Koden No Ryu Mamoru, Vol 1: Anarchy
by Ryu Mamoru
Summary: After the fight against Riser, Ryu received a letter from Kuroka's teacher requesting his assistance in investigating the former Tokyo, now named "Shinto Teito" that is riddled with anomalies, Youkai, and secrets no doubt. Taking Yuuma Amano, also known as Raynare, with him, Ryu leaves Kuoh City to investigate this, determined to find out what is going on...
1. The Cowboy, the Fallen Angel, and Others

**AN: The _real_ beginning of Ryu's journey starts here! Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! To the (real) first volume of "Koden no Ryu Mamoru" for those who have read the prototype/rough draft of it which is "Freedom."**

 **Also, before you continue any further, look up at my profile for my personal ground rules about my story and leaving reviews in general. If I could make it mandatory, I would. That's how much you need to check it out because _I KNOW_ there are those people that just want "lemons, lemons, lemons, pairings, pairings, pairings." I'm not saying it's a bad preference, I'm saying to keep it down on a minimum.**

 **That said, let's move on to the key-thingies which I will only show once. Meaning, they won't appear in the future chapters:**

"Yo!" - Speech  
 _"Mind-blown." - Thoughts_  
'Hello!' - Ryu Writing to Speak  
 _'Betcha don't know what I'm thinking!' - Ryu Thinking_  
 **[Greetings!]/[BOOST] - Ddraig Talking/Boosted Gear  
 _[I bet you that I do!] - Ddraig Thinking  
_** "Ya darn whippersnappers!..." - Flashback Speech  
 _"Back in my day..." - Flashback Thoughts  
 **In a galaxy... - Scene Change or OST/BGM Indicator  
**_ **"Something, something." - Text Message/Signs/Scary Voice**  


 **That said, I do not own Highschool DxD nor Sekirei. Only my proud creation, Ryu Mamoru!**

* * *

 _ **"Anarchy" Prologue: Begin**_

* * *

 _ **Day: Friday. Time: Morning. Location: Shinto Teito Outskirts, Train Station.**_

* * *

Shinto Teito, Japan...

Formerly known as Tokyo, Japan.

It _used_ to be called "Tokyo" until the entire city got a city-wide makeover.

The buildings that are already built were not touched, however. No, not those.

It was more like the outskirts of it.

The entire city is surrounded by a gigantic wall that circled the _entire_ city.

Yes, a wall.

Metal. Reinforced steel.

If anything, it looked like an attempted rip-off of a totally epic show.

The reason behind that is...

"So this city was changed by an organization called the 'MBI'?"

That was Yuuma Amano. She looked about seventeen years old, standing at five-foot-three, and has hip-length, black colored hair with purple eyes of beauty and liveliness. Not to mention she wore a plain, black t-shirt, blue jeans, black tennis shoes, and a brown colored bracelet that resembled a dragon. She had a killer body that many models wish to accomplish and an adorable face to boot.

However...

Her real name is Raynare and she is Fallen Angel; the type that fell down from Heaven for one or more out of the "Seven Deadly Sins" being committed. Plain and simple. Yes, the supernatural exists. Ranging from the Devils, Fallen Angels, and Angels from the Bible, to Youkai and monsters out of fantasy, to gods and heroes in mythology, to dragons told through legends. They all exist. And they all remain themselves hidden from the world of humans as they fight and survive amongst each other.

And that person she spoke to only gave a nod of conformation.

The person is a man.

His name is known as Ryu Mamoru. Age of twenty with a height of five-foot-seven or five-foot-eight if one rounded up the extra digits. The impressive build of this man looked like a slightly beefed up Olympic athlete. He wore his signature gray jacket over his white shirt with heavily dark gray jeans and brown cowboy boots. He even had a brown colored cowboy hat to go with his "modern cowboy" appearance. The man's face contained defined jaws and naturally narrowed eyes to give him a look one would give to their rival, both thanks to his American bloodline. Brown hair that looked completely messy and spiky when he's not wearing his hat and soft, brown eyes to go with the brown hair with a very much so tanned skin complexion from his Mexican bloodline to top it all off.

Is it believable at this point that he is also part Japanese?

Unfortunately, the man is a mute; he cannot speak.

It was during his childhood an incident happened that even he does not remember specifically. Ever since then, he's just used a pocket-sized notepad to communicate.

He also happens to be human. Yep, human. Not half-human, not third-human, not even quarter-human.

Full. Human.

And as some may guess, yes, he is part of the "supernatural". He's grown strong enough to be considered a worthy adversary in the supernatural. To _some_ individuals, at the very least.

But never mind that - the company known as the "MBI". Also known as "Mid Bio Informatics", is _supposedly_ a pharmaceutical company.

 _'But pharmaceutical companies don't buy cities and make them look like they're preparing for wars...'_ Is the only logical thought racing across Ryu's mind.

 _ **[It is exactly why you are asked to be here, partner. I, myself, know there is something serious happening in the city if the message sent to you speaks the truth. After seeing this, I am believing it to be completely true.]**_ This is Ddraig, the original "Sekiryutei" or "Red Dragon Emperor." He's been there for Ryu for who-knows-how-long and has always been his surrogate second and most wise conscious as well as his personal adviser in all things important or random. He was also the third most powerful being back when he was not in the imprisonments of the Sacred Gear he now resides in - the Boosted Gear; one of the Thirteen Longinus Sacred Gears. These "Sacred Gears" are tools created by _THE_ God, the Biblical God, God, whatever name one prefers to use, given to specifically humans and _only_ humans. Some can be used to improve mundane tasks like Olympic sports or scientific breakthroughs.

What? Compared to the supernatural, they're pretty mundane.

Anyways, these "Longinus" Sacred Gears are one of the many other Sacred Gears that can be used to combatant the supernatural creatures.

The thirteen Sacred Gears, however... Are special, even among their fellow creations...

They have great potential to kill godlike beings.

Yes, gods and beings as powerful as gods. Those beings that are said to be immortal, monitor and possibly control the lives of normal mortals and even a handful of supernatural creatures, pass their powers to someone else in those reincarnation things, and-or resurrect or whatever if they _do_ happen to "die".

 _'You're right and so is the scroll, but... If things get as bad as we think they can... It's not going to be pretty...'_ Ryu takes out his wallet that has been custom made with three icons on it that are the heads of two cartoon-like cats; one black, one white. The third one is in between the two cats and that is actually a bronze head of a dragon. Opening the wallet, he could not help but smile at the photo inside the wallet.

Kuroka Toujou, standing on his left side. She is an absolute "bombshell" as people would say with the added bonus of a toned body (for a female) thanks to training and had this vibrant, black color hair that past her hips and gorgeous, seemingly golden colored eyes with feline slits and a seductive look on her face. Her apparel was just a simple, black kimono with a yellow obi around her stomach and some golden bells to with it. She stood about the same height as Ryu and looked to be the same age as well.

Shirone Toujou, standing on his right side. Once more, like her sister, is also a "bombshell." Her body shared very similar toned features even as well as those mesmerizing, feline eyes, but unlike her sister, she has shiny, white hair that reached her shoulders and her expression shows one of innocence instead of lust or seductiveness. Also, she wore a white kimono with a gray obi sash to complement her hair. Her height was only a few inches shorter of Ryu and Kuroka as well as two years younger than they were.

The two of them were snuggling each of his arms with all three of them smiling and behind the three was Kuoh Academy, the school the three, formerly two, attend.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: Approximately 2 Hours Ago in Kuoh City at the Train Station..._**

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need me to go with you, Ryu-san?" Asked a blonde, green haired teen. That girl is Asia Argento. A nun. She is seventeen years old and stood at five-foot-two. The woman wore her dark teal nun clothing as she just returned from the church to say her goodbyes to the leaving Ryu and Yuuma. She has a very slim and still developing figure that complements her cute face.

'I'm sorry, Asia. I can't risk your health and life and while I do need someone to help me out, I'm going to take Yuuma with me instead.' Ryu is not happy for abandoning one of his great friends and such as a kind person too.

But that's exactly why he needed her to remain in the city and stay with the others to become capable for combat.

"Don't worry, Asia. We'll be fine. Ryu and I will be training each other and we'll be fighting side-by-side." Reassured Yuuma as the nun and Fallen Angel hugged.

Ryu smiled at the scene before turning his attention to Kuroka and Shirone. Both are smiling sadly at how they would be needing to be separate once more.

"Ryu-kun... Before you go... Shiro-chan and I want to give you something to remember us by, nya." Kuroka and Shirone stepped forward to get closer with the mute and handed him a square object that is wrapped in brown paper. Ryu made no hesitation to take the gift and unwrapped it and smiled as soon as he saw what it was.

A wallet. A brown wallet. But the best part is the cute, Neko heads on the front with the head of a dragon in the middle.

"The best is inside the wallet, Ryu." Shirone gestured to open up the leather money holder to which Ryu complied in doing so.

His smile only became wider and a lot more radiant.

It was a photo of the three that he took right after he said his goodbyes to the rest of his friends in Kuoh Academy.

"Even if we'll see each other again... We'll miss you." Softly and sadly spoke Shirone.

'We'll see each other again real soon. I'm sure of it. So no need to be sad, okay?' The white haired girl nodded in response.

After saying their goodbyes and the goodbye kisses between Ryu and the Toujou Sisters, said brunette and Fallen Angel board on the train and wave goodbye.

 **"We have arrived at Shinto Teito. Shinto Teito."**

* * *

 ** _Flashback: End._**

* * *

Ryu was abruptly pulled out of his flashback from the sound of the announcer declaring that they have reached their destination. The sight of seeing people exiting and entering the train did confirm that they have arrived in the all-famous Shinto Teito.

 _'So this is Shinto Teito, huh?'_ He had to admit- the view was breathtaking.

But alas, they were not here to play tourist.

 _'Sigh... Okay... Focus, Ryu...'_

"Come on, Ryu-sama!"

Yuuma grabbed his hand and gently tugged him out of the train with her. The two start walking out of the train station and out to see the sights of the city.

That is when Ryu stopped and gaped at the masses of large buildings.

 _'Whoa...'_ Ryu couldn't help but get all giddy inside at the sight of all the buildings. The buildings were as common and as big as Kuoh City was and Ryu liked that.

Ooohhh, how he likes that.

 _'My personal freerunning playground! YES!'_

Yuuma caught drift of Ryu's thoughts through his happy expression and giggled at how happy he looked.

"I'm going to take a lucky guess and say you're going to start parkouring around this city." Yuuma giggled even more when Ryu nodded multiple times in rapid succession, but she remembered something pretty crucial to which she voiced out, "but first, we need to get some food in you. You haven't eaten since breakfast time and that about three hours ago!" The chipper "cowboy" nodded in agreement to that. It _was_ Ryu's first time on a train and it kind of got him hungry from all the nervousness and panic he had at first.

It took Ddraig's consolation and Yuuma's hand holding to get over his first time experience.

The reason why is...

"Never board on trains, Ryu! There are always bad people in there and I don't want to risk my son's safety!"

His mother telling him to _never_ go on trains. Unfortunately, it was required for the plan of using his motorcycle was not an option and using superhuman abilities like flight or jumping over the wall was out of as well considering what the scroll Ryu received gave any indication.

Speaking of which... Ryu's mind began to drift off to what the scroll said...

* * *

 _ **Flashback: Approximately 3 Hours Ago in Kuoh City at the Mamoru Residence...**_

* * *

"Here... I haven't read it myself." Kuroka handed Ryu the scroll that held the supposed important message. Shirone tilted her head in curiosity and stood next to Ryu to see what it will say. Kuroka did the same thing that her little sister did. And so, with clipping the scroll open, Ryu rolled out the message for the three (including Ddraig) to read.

"Dear Ryu Mamoru,

I have been sensing and seeing that there has been violent activity of Youkai in Tokyo, Japan.

As you and many others may know, the city has been remodeled and renamed as "Shinto Teito."

The activity might be involved with the change of the city as well as other life forces I've detected in the city.

Life forces that are very foreign, even to the supernatural.

While they might not be considered strong to the supernatural, there are still many of them and could be the reason behind all this.

I would have to guess that the "pharmaceutical company," the MBI, would be involved in this upcoming catastrophe.

After witnessing your fight against Riser Phenex and what you have said after the battle, I would hope you can be the one to calm this problem down.

If it must resort to violence, then I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Kuroka's sensei.

P.S. If my assumption is correct, you should be healed by now or at least enough to make the journey. If not, do take rest until you do so."

* * *

 _ **Flashback: End...**_

* * *

And that's what the scroll said.

 _'It seemed very... Vague though. Youkai and foreign beings to even the supernatural? This teacher is really good at sensing... I really am curious who's the one that has been teaching Kuroka stuff and now Shirone.'_ He knows Kuroka is powerful, far stronger than he is currently, even if he has not seen her in combat yet.

 _ **[Perhaps in time, partner. For now, let us worry the matter at hand and get you some food. I shall withdraw for the time being to let you enjoy yourself. Speak to me whenever you are in a dire situation or need someone to talk to.]**_ Ddraig chuckled once he finished. Ryu had no objections and nodded as he and Yuuma kept walking in search of a fast-food restaurant.

 _'Hmm? I sense some fast-paced signatures...'_ Ryu looked around though none of the people he glanced at had the energy he was sensing.

Then again, there was no one around. Except Yuuma and himself.

"LOOK OUT!"

 _'Huh?'_ /"Huh?" Was the only intelligent response of Ryu and Yuuma. The two looked up in time to see a person fall off a skyscraper and guess what?

The person landed right on top of Ryu.

In a _very_ provocative position.

Yuuma just stood there awkwardly. She would have helped if it weren't the current position they were in.

That one, small thought that went through her mind about the position:

 _"How did they end up in the 'sixty-nine' position?"_

Yuuma is most _definitely_ a Fallen Angel.

"Owowow... That was a big fall..." Mumbled what sounded to be a female's voice whom belonged to the now identified female brunette that fell on top of the male brunette counterpart. Completely ignoring the face full of panties and rear, said male lightly poked the female's behind to get her attention. The reaction he received was an expected squeak of surprise. She looked back to see the human-turned-cushion's face and noticed he is holding a pocket-sized notepad for her to read.

'Could you please get off of me?'

"Ahh! Sorry!"

The brunette got off of Ryu in a flash and helped up the man. He gave a simple, appreciative nod and dusted himself off of any dirt on him by the fall. After he finished his little dust-off, Ryu took his time to analyze the girl in front of him now.

The girl was a little shorter than Yuuma and had brown, hime-style hair that framed her face with the addition of tied up strands of hair that reached past her hips and a little "idiot hair" sticking out. She wore an attire that consists of a white gi with red string decorating it that is a typical wear for a miko of Japanese tradition though there is the added short red skirt, mid-calf brown boots, and upper thigh-high stockings.

 _'Those are some awesome combat gloves she has... I can tell she's trained really hard too.'_ Ryu admired the specially designed and red combat gloves the woman wore.

 _"Wow... She has some large breasts. They're about my own in my current form..."_ And Raynare was astounded with the woman's well-endowed chest.

One could tell from their line of sight that they were thinking differently.

Eventually, the two stopped their separate ogling and faced the female brunette correctly with Ryu being the first to break the ice.

'Umm... So... Did you fall out of the sky?'

The female smiled and gave a happy and chirpy response, "Yep! Well... I didn't exactly fall from the sky... But I did fall from a building!" Yuuma blinked at the way she responded while Ryu only nodded.

 _'It does make sense. She has superhuman capabilities as her energy signature gives off. It might be pretty weak compared to others, but it is still supernatural and that means a fall like that won't affect her one bit. I'm sure even Yuuma felt it too.'_ Ryu stopped his analytic train of thought to feel the two other energy signatures approach their location. Ones that he sensed earlier.

"Found you!"

"No more playing the game of cat and mouse!"

The male and duo of females had to turn to see two, black hair and purple eyed twin sisters wearing a type of BDSM outfits that are also purple in different shades for the two with one being more "buxom" than the other.

Ryu had the automatic instinct to turn and look at Yuuma after seeing their choice of clothing which made the Fallen Angel blush in embarrassment and look down with light mumbling of "I don't wear that anymore".

The miko wearing female frowned at the hostile aura the twins emitted and tried to reason with them: "But I'm still looking for my Ashikabi!"

Ryu tilted his head upon hearing this "Ashikabi". It sounded important by the urgency of her voice.

"And that's exactly why we need to take you out!" The more endowed of the two spoke and gave off sparks of purple electricity. Her twin sister soon follows suit.

 _'This doesn't seem good... They're stronger too so this'll be difficult for the lady.'_

That's when Ryu sensed one last signature.

Yuuma herself tensed up when she felt it too.

 _'A powerful one at that too...'_

"Three of you here? This'll be making my job a whole lot easier." The three stranger ladies that jumped off buildings looked up with Ryu and Yuuma doing the same to see where the origin of that calm, gruff voice that sounded male came from. At last, they saw someone who stood on the very tip of a streetlight pole, wearing only a brown sweater, maroon shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. The man's face gave something to safely assume that he appeared to be around the stage of young adult with his neat and kept black hair and mature blue eyes. This only caused the sisters and fallen brunette to blink in curiosity of his sudden appearance.

"Who are you?" Impatiently asked the less "mature" of the twins. Her tone only earned her a scowl that involuntarily made her shiver in anticipation of a probable fight and perhaps fear from his cold eyes that exuded power.

"Someone who is to eliminate your kind if my fellow brothers and sisters are to take back our land that is rightfully ours." Although the black-nette said this, he had to also cast wary and cautious glances to Yuuma's and Ryu's directions. The miko brunette and the BDSM twins did not know how to respond to this due to one reason...

"He's not a Sekirei. At least, I don't sense him a Sekirei..." Again, Ryu instinctively tilted his head when he heard this from the twins. It seems that he will need to gather _lots_ of information later.

 _'But for now, I should help them. He's one of those Youkai that are probably not happy with the land changes.'_ Ryu immediately thought of a plan of tactical retreat and turned to Yuuma with his notepad already been written on. She finished reading what it says and nodded. That nod was the only thing he needed to follow through his part of the plan and launched a bronze colored magic blast to the concrete between the group and the lone man while no one but Yuuma noticed. The result was an explosion that kicked up heavy amounts of dust to distract him and Yuuma followed through by throwing a quick spear of tainted light magic.

"What the-" The man jumped to a rooftop on instinct when the explosion happened and forced himself to lean far to the side to avoid a spear of light that came for him. _"Only an Angel or Fallen Angel could conjure spears like that. It feels tainted... Fallen Angel, no doubt. Wait...! Argh! I see what they did..."_ True to his suspicion, by the time he looked back to where he saw the group of people, they were already gone.

"They got away..." With a disappointed sigh, the man continued mumbling his thoughts out loud, "But I at least know now that there are more than just these 'Sekirei' going about. The blast was pure magic too, so it must be someone else that fired it since the 'Three Great Powers' aren't able to do that after all. Then why is a Fallen Angel with him? I highly doubt that the Fallen Angel Faction would concern themselves with this. That leaves the male in question. What faction does he belong to and what do they want? Either way, this won't be pretty..." The man began leaping across building after he finished his mumbling.

* * *

 _ **Location: Shinto Teito Streets**_

* * *

"Whoa, that was a scary guy! What happened back there?"

Ryu and Yuuma traded even looks and back to the female brunette. They used the distraction to run away to an area where people were walking around and quite busy might one add.

 _'Still, where did those twins go...?'_

'I don't know. It just happened so suddenly. But we thought it was a good idea to use that as our distraction.' This is an obvious lie and he wouldn't lie if he knew whether or not this stranger in front of him knew about the supernatural or not. Yuuma wanted to make sure the female bought it and nodded in agreement with Ryu to back up the lie. Fortunately, she took it.

"Wow! That was great thinking! You guys are really smart and fast thinkers!" Praised the brunette. That's when she let out a gasp of shock. "Ah! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Musubi!" The now revealed Musubi grabbed both of Yuuma's hands and shook them with gratitude and then she did the same for Ryu. The two smiled at meeting such a kind-heart.

"My name is Yuuma Amano. It's a pleasure to meet you, Musubi." Yuuma then bows slightly as she introduced herself.

'No problem. Name's Ryu Mamoru, nice to meetcha!' Ryu gave his happy-go-lucky grin.

 _"Huh?"_

Something went off in Musubi's chest just as she saw his smile.

 _"What was that...? It felt like my chest was warm for a moment there... Could he be...?"_

Her thoughts were disrupted by two sets of growling stomachs. Yuuma gasped when she remembered about Ryu needing to eat.

"Come on, you two! We need to get you some food!" Yuuma giggled and took the two brunettes by the hand. The two said brunette did not object as Yuuma looked around for a place to eat.

* * *

 ** _Location: Maid Cafe..._**

* * *

Yuuma led the two inside a maid cafe.

And she was beginning to consider it a bad idea.

"Whoa... He's eating so much..."

"With those muscles, he must need to eat a lot..."

"Kyyaaa~, he's so hooot~."

"That cowboy can ride me anytime~."

A tickmark appeared on her head from having heard enough. "Don't you all have a job to do?" The maids gasped and scrambled, letting Yuuma sigh softly before looking at a stuffed Ryu next to her. She smiled at his relaxed self and asked, "was it good?" The response was, 'yeah, it was. Thanks for that, Yuuma.' Ryu gave an appreciative pat on her head that she actually relished on. She quickly got used to being petted on the head and quite liked it. It was a nice feeling.

"Thank you for the food, Yuuma-san!" Thanked Musubi, getting a "You're welcome, Musubi" from Yuuma. Musubi rubbed her satisfied tummy once she finished her _twenty-seventh_ dish whereas Ryu ate _thirty-four_.

The two ate _a lot_ of food.

Well, Ryu had his reasons. Not having eaten for a couple of days when he was recovering and used magic to get here and all.

After getting over his full belly, Ryu decided to sit up straight and look at brunette sitting across the two. Musubi felt the intense gaze and stared back at the man before her.

'What happened back there?'

As usual, she gives a perked up response with a big smile, "oh! They were fellow Sekirei like I am and I was looking for Ashikabi so I can officially get started on the 'Sekirei Plan' with my destined one and win with him or her!" She fist pumped the air in excitement at the thought of fighting tough enemies, winning victories for her Ashikabi, and winning the big game to finally be with her Ashikabi without worry.

Yuuma and Ryu blankly stared at the woman before they switched their gazes to each other, then back at Musubi.

'What's a Sekirei?'/"What's an Ashikabi?"

* * *

 _ **"Anarchy" Prologue: End**_

* * *

 **AN: There you go, folks: The Prologue. I understand that there are those who did not exactly like "Freedom," but _again_ ; It. Was. Not. The. Actual. Part. Of. Ryu's. Life. There were _some_ parts of the story that did happen in his real origins though. I got the fact that there were plot holes, grammar mistakes, and whatever else I needed to work on or just remove entirely that some of you said to me but I kept repeating over and over that the story is just a "rough draft" and something to analyze my writing skills.**

 **Okay, I need to calm down and let that go.**

 **Welp... Have a nice day.**


	2. Basic Rundown and Advanced Runaway

**AN: Nice of you to check out the second chapter of Ryu's tale.**

 **Oh, right. Check out my Profile to see my little OST/BGM list I got for my story. If you want. I put them there for fun. Maybe I'll put links to them to make it easier for you readers (and listeners if you choose to play my choices of music).**

 **Go on ahead and enjoy your read.**

 **This prologue recap thingy will only appear in each second (first real; non-prologue) chapter of each volume.**

* * *

 _ **Last time, Ryu and Yuuma arrived at the former Tokyo that was renowned as Shinto Teito after Ryu received an anonymous message from Kuroka's teacher that foreshadowed some important Youkai and foreign life force activity. The information could possibly affect the entire population in the remodeled city and perhaps involve the infamous pharmaceutical company, the "MBI." True to the message, the duo have briefly encountered a Youkai and three of the foreign energy signatures, one who is revealed to be Musubi and said to be a "Sekirei" looking for her "Ashikabi" in the "Sekirei Plan." Now, Ryu and Yuuma are going to find out what exactly is going on...**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: Begin_**

* * *

 ** _(Same) Time: Morning. (Same) Location: Maid Cafe._**

* * *

"You mean you don't know?" Musubi gasped when the two shook their heads in the negative. "Then I'll be happy to explain!" Ryu's eyes gave a glimmer of interest and anticipation on hearing possibly vital information and help to stop whatever is going on in the city. Musubi gave an adorable and light cough to clear her throat in order to explain.

"Sekirei are people like me. We're just like humans except we have these amazing superpowers that let us do things like jumping around things like giant buildings or running really, really fast. But we have our full potential restricted because we could have our powers go out of control. That's why we need to find our Ashikabi; someone who is our chosen one and can release our full abilities and cheer us on as we fight harsh and adrenaline-pumping fights!" Musubi spoke as she got more and more giddy the more she said. Ryu feigned amazement in order to seem normal while Yuuma had genuine interest in what she was hearing. "Our Ashikabi can have more than one Sekirei and the more Sekirei the Ashikabi has, the higher the chances are for victory. The 'Sekirei Plan' is something that the professor made to place Sekirei against Sekirei to see who will win and the Ashikabi that wins will be able to have their Sekirei without anymore worries!" Musubi seemed to be only getting further excited at the idea of fights.

Ryu inwardly frowned even more than he did in the beginning at the last part.

 _'So Ddraig and I were right. The way this city is made is to endure the fight that will take place...'_ He mentally shook his head the more he kept thinking about it. _'No... This is more like a war than anything else. How many are there? And how is it that there is no major destruction in the city yet? Well, that last question is a bit of a stretch. I haven't explored this place fully. And I actually do remember the number from what Kuroka told me that her sensei said: One hundred and eight. That's a lot.'_ The mute brought his attention back to his physical surroundings. He idly noted Musubi sitting there with her upbeat smile and tinted pink cheeks.

 _'Wait. Tinted pink cheeks? Is she blushing? Her temperature has increased too. What for? Sigh. I'll find that out later. For now, one important question,'_ and ask he did by showing it through his notepad, 'how come there's no big, environmental damage as far as Yuuma and I have seen?' Musubi's eyes widened and her mouth formed an "O" before she answered, "that's because the 'Plan' is still in its 'First Phase.' It's when all Sekirei find their Ashikabi and after we do, the 'Second Phase' starts and the fighting begins." Ryu nodded with a smile to show kindness at her open responses. It was fortunate that they found a "Sekirei" that had no problem to share this with them. Yuuma glanced in Ryu's direction and momentarily frowned when she saw the question on the notepad.

 _"He's probably trying to get information to see what he can do about all of this. I'm still wondering what he's planning to do after he gets the information he needs. But I can tell he has one last question..."_

'Why are you telling us this?' Wrote Ryu on his notepad, just as Yuuma predicted.

 _"I thought so."_ Thought Yuuma with an amused expression.

Musubi just kept smiling and giving another cheerful answer, "because you helped me escape those two from before and that scary man! I've been running away from the twins for a while because I don't have an Ashikabi yet and they want to get me out while I'm still searching." Musubi, for once, pouted when she said this. "It isn't fair to attack someone that isn't at full power or can't fight back." Ryu nodded in agreement to that statement. 'I completely agree with you, Musubi. With the last part, at least.' Yuuma turned her attention back to the Sekirei and offered a small smile. "Yes, we are happy to help you."

Ryu suddenly snapped his fingers, gaining the attention of the two females.

'You should show us around the place. We're actually from a neighboring city called, "Kuoh City" and we got here to explore a bit and check out what other places have to offer.'

Musubi beamed at Ryu when she read the idea. "I'd be happy too! Maybe I'll find my Ashikabi while I give you a tour too!" Yuuma agreed to this idea and added her two cents into it, "It's safer too. You'll be in crowds and it's a lot easier to take your time to search instead of jumping around like you do." The miko superhuman nodded at the logic behind that. "Then let's go~!" She grabbed Ryu and Yuuma and led the two outside to begin the tour.

 _'Good thing I paid for the food before we left.'_ Ryu mentally chuckled as he thought of that.

* * *

 _ **Time: Afternoon. Location: Park.**_

* * *

"And here we have this park that many tourists come here to see! It's really, really popular." Musubi said as she spread her arms wide open to emphasize the beauty of the greenery and nature of the park. Ryu and Yuuma had to admit that it was indeed beautiful. A bountiful of trees everywhere in the park, bushes, flowers, grass. Truly beautiful. "There are a lot of other parks too, but this one is the best out of them all." Informed Musubi. Ryu gave a shrug and a few nods in understanding. It is a city so it was a sure shot that parks are all around the city.

Yuuma looked at Ryu with a big, bright smile and asked, "It's a lovely place, isn't it?" Ryu smiled back and nodded. 'It's not as pretty as Kuoh but still beautiful. Maybe it's because Kuoh gives me the "nostalgic" feeling.' Yuuma bobbed her head in agreement and thought how similar she felt, _"yeah... People might think the Underworld is boring because it doesn't have as many colors as the Human World, but it's still home to me..."_

Musubi brought the two out of their memory lane trips, however.

"What is Kuoh City like? Does it look like Shinto Teito?" Ryu was the first to respond by shaking his head. 'No, there's a lot less skyscrapers and the parks can be considered as forests. There are also a few amusement parks that are constantly open because of how popular they are. It's pretty great to have some places like that to visit every now and then if you're looking to brush off your boredom. But be sure to bring friends or relatives with you to multiply your fun or even hang out with some people in the amusement park themselves.'

"Ehh? Really? I want to go there~! It sounds like a lot of fun!" Musubi was basically jumping at this point from the thought of nonstop amusement park trips. Ryu gave a silent chuckle and Yuuma simply kept smiling. It was obvious that the trio are having fun in their little tour.

That is, until Ryu and Yuuma paused with Ryu giving off a small sigh.

 _'Of course, the happiness must come to an end...'_

"Ah-ha! Found you again!"

The three made a complete one-eighty degrees to see the lightning twins that harassed Musubi earlier.

"You won't be escaping us a second time neither will your friends protect you."

The two left no time for them to respond and began to charge up on purplish electricity. Ryu would be focused on the two if it weren't for something else that is bugging him.

"Same thing can be said to you, sweet cheeks!"

 _'Another Youkai...'_

The twins' static electricity cease when they heard a new voice and all of them looked up to see someone standing on a tree branch.

This one was entirely different from the last one who Ryu saw. This one wore a gray tank top, blue shorts, and white running shoes. His hair was wild and spiky in the color of blonde with pure gray eyes. This "eccentric" man reminded him of Kiba Yuuto, one of his friends, if he drank coffee and ate a lot of sugar and it got to his head.

"First that black haired dude and now you? Who are you guys?" Questioned one of the two in an irritated tone of voice. The man grinned and jumped down from the tree branch to the concrete floor.

"Isn't it obvious? To take care of people like you and have this city back. And I'm not sure what 'black haired dude' you're talking about. There are a lot of dudes with black hair, y'know. I _may_ have an idea who you're talking about though but that doesn't matter, now does it?" The blonde heard movement behind him and followed the origin of that sound. What he saw mildly surprised him. "Seriously? You're planning on protecting her? You're just a normal human. What could you possibly do?"

Ryu had pulled Musubi behind him and took a defensive stance during the stranger's conversation with the twins. His expression had one that is determined to protect something that he considers precious and would never let it be harmed. Musubi, in her case, stood shocked at Ryu's act of courage. That shock turned to surprise from feeling an "impulse" again in her body that caused a heavy blush to appear on her cheeks, her temperature to rise, and breathing to become ragged.

One would think she is sick. She knew, however, what it actually is and the cause of it.

 _"Could he be... The one?"_

"Why are you targeting the Sekirei? What good will that come out of you trying to kill them?"

The gray-eyed stranger turned his head slightly to lock his gaze with Yuuma who did not flinch under the gaze.

"Is it not obvious? Even if you know it or not, I'm not telling. And..." The man took a few, deep sniffs in the air, causing his face to scrunch up in concentration and possible confusion. "You smell like a raven or a crow. Can't tell." Yuuma resisted the urge to tense up at his analysis. "Eh. Whatever. I'll just do a little magic." The man snapped his fingers. "And you two should be on your way."

No one moved.

No one made a sound.

Five seconds have already passed.

"What?"

The "hyperactive" man's grin turned to a shocked look.

Ryu already sees this as a "cover about to be blown" situation and acted fast by grabbing Musubi's hand and leaving the scene, Yuuma following right behind Ryu.

"Wait, stop right there!" The Youkai looked back at the two twins, which were ready to pounce on the woman wearing the miko outfit, then back at the retreating forms of the two "humans" and girl.

Only to find them no longer there.

 _"I can still sense the "Sekirei" though... I can tell they went separate paths too. But she and the human are together. It'll be easier to go after them. The girl that smelled like feathers can be caught in another time."_ Thought the Youkai stranger and turned around to face the twins briefly.

"I'll deal with you two later."

"Wait, wha-"

One of the twins never got to finish her sentence as the blond man leaped on top of one of the buildings and started to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

"I think there's something going on here, Hikari. Something more than just the 'Sekirei Plan'."

"I think you're right, Hibiki. But Minaka will probably do nothing to stop it and welcome whatever is happening with open arms."

"Still... I heard of rumors about Sekirei being attacked and either winning or defeating against these threats and those who lost were in need of some serious medical attention. I heard they dropped some type of warning letters too. Do you think he and that man were one of them?"

"It only seems to make sense. Let's save ourselves the trouble of fighting and head back."

The two decided it was best to leave the Sekirei alone and head back to tell what happened to their own Ashikabi.

* * *

 _ **Location: Streets.**_

* * *

 _'I figured he would come after me. Things would be easier if Musubi could hide her presence. Unfortunately, given the circumstances, she can't.'_ Ryu gave one of the many glances he had done to said Sekirei. He has noticed that her core has been very erratic and her body following suit through symptoms that of a common cold. On instinct and common sense, he glanced further back and then up in case of any movement in the rooftops. His mind briefly wandered back before the time Yuuma and Ryu split up...

* * *

 ** _Flashback: A Few Minutes Ago._**

* * *

As the three were running, a tap on the shoulder, courtesy of Ryu, brings her attention to the male in question.

"What is it, Ryu-sama?" She witnesses him taking out a notepad and words appearing on the piece of paper.

'We need to split up. You go on alone and I'll take Musubi with me. When I lose him, we'll meet up again later via texted location.' Yuuma had to agree with the idea.

But she had one complaint, though...

"Why are you taking Musubi with you?" Eyes narrowed as she asked this.

'Because we don't need your faction in any sort of trouble if it can be avoided and I can maneuver around danger and hide from it in a large place like a city easily. Being good at sensing also helps.'

Yuuma could not disagree there so she nodded with that in mind.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: End._**

* * *

 _'This place shouldn't be anymore different than Kuoh City. Just need to rely on human adaptation and my freerunning skills. Need to steer clear of using or doing anything considered superhuman...'_ His mind drifted to another important issue at hand:

 _'Why is Musubi like this?'_ Ryu's mind kept nagging him about that. It worried him when a friend was troubled.

 _'Wait... Her core was like that since this morning. But it's only getting worse. Is it because Yuuma or myself? Maybe the two of us? Is there a bad reaction with them when it comes to magi-'_

Ryu had to stop thinking at that moment.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He didn't need to turn back to see the man behind the two to know he's there. Quickly, he scoops up Musubi in his arms and starts to run even faster.

"There is no one to come up and ask for help!"

Ignoring that _very_ obvious statement, Ryu took a sharp turn to an alleyway and promptly hopped over a fence. After making another sharp turn, he begins jumping on things attached to the wall such as window sills and possible loose bricks quickly and reach the rooftop.

 _'I can lose him like this...'_ Ryu placed a barrier spell on Musubi as he kept thinking to himself, _'without Musubi emitting any type of presence, all that is left is to find a way to hide from him. I know it would take no time for...'_

"A humanely impressive jumping and climbing ability are not enough to lose me!"

 _'...him to catch up.'_

So he started to run and vault over obstacles like AC vents and other electrical appliances on top of buildings. Combat rolling away from an attempted pounce, he had to suppress the urge to look back, but he knew one thing for sure:

 _'He's toying with me. This is good. I can escape if he keeps this up for a little while longer.'_

While the thoughts of the supposed predator thought among the lines of:

 _"Wow. He sure runs and jumps fast for a human. I get to eliminate one of the targets, obtain the human for information gathering, AND I get to chase him around without the worry of him fighting back! A threefer!"_ The ecstatic man momentarily stopped in surprise when he sees his prey jump from the ledge of a building and rolls when his legs hit the cement of the neighboring rooftop to safely absorb the shock of impact. He kept running just as he got back up with the target in his arms still safe and unharmed from the impact.

"Humans these days are getting more and more athletic. Here I thought they were getting lazier." After his quick monologue, the man's energy returns full force and easily leap to the same rooftop.

 _'I have to lose him now before he gets the idea to start actually trying.'_ Ryu looked around as he made an instinctual jump to the next roof to find anything to help him and taking a sharp turn to avoid another pounce that he managed to barely miss. Then, an idea miraculously pops up just as he jumps over another ventilation shaft.

 _'I got it!'_

Now with an idea to execute, the freerunner jumps down in between the crevice of two buildings and into another alley. The pursuer just gets a maniacal grin and responds to this "idiotic" and evasive action his target chose.

"Hah! That's not gonna work!"

And fell down to the same dark and damp alley.

Only to find him not there or in the area to begin with.

"Huh?"

The confused Youkai scratches his head in confusion as to where the two might have gone.

That is until a clunking noise out back in the streets interrupted his thinking skills.

"Heh... Thought you can run, huh!?"

Had he looked up, he would have seen Ryu hanging on an AC that made itself stick out from a wall and using his other arm to keep his tight and firm grip on Musubi. After making sure this "totally normal" blonde was gone for now, Ryu let go of the cooling machine and landed back safely onto the ground.

 _'Good. He's gone.'_

Ryu let go of Musubi to get a good look at her.

"Hah hah hah... Ryu... My body... It feels so hot... And my heart..." She grabbed his left hand and pressed it against her bountiful chest as she presses on, "it's pounding so much..." Ryu's eyes widened considerably when he indeed felt Musubi's temperature rising and a chibi version of Ryu started panicking around while Ddraig is curled up near him in deep slumber without a care in the world in his head, trying to think of a plan to help ease or maybe cure it.

And that's when it happened.

Musubi stood on the tip of her toes and planted a soft, earnest kiss upon Ryu's lips.

 _'What!?'_

Ryu couldn't do anything thanks to the surprise still settling in on his mind.

But it only got worse.

 _'Are those... Wings coming out of her back?'_

As Ryu thought-stated: Pink and glowing wings sprouting through her back. They extended a large length of three meters and he could also tell of the Yin and Yang symbol floating on top of her back, just below the neck. Musubi parted from Ryu's lips and took a few steps back in shiver from either ecstasy or from the sickness, he couldn't tell.

Until she released a large moan and the wings released pink feathers of sorts.

That's when he realized it was ecstasy.

While the light show began to dim down and Musubi attempts to regain her bearings, Ryu's mind started to go through several things.

 _'Okay... What just happened? Why did she kiss me? How is her sickness cured after one kiss? Why did I feel something strange? How did her energy suddenly spike and got stronger?'_ His mindset's clearly not in its most stable. It's that obvious by the blush covering his cheeks. The blush lessened when he heard what Musubi said next though.

 **"Fist of my contract! Break the unhappiness of my Ashikabi!"** Musubi slowly looked up be at eye-to-eye with Ryu and lovingly peers deep into his soft, brown orbs with her own brown ones.

"Sekirei number eighty-eight, Musubi. I hope you and I will get through this together, Ryu. My Ashikabi."

Ryu is left stupefied and a muted "What" is the only thing that managed to process through his numbing mind. To make things harder for his rebooting brain, Musubi wrapped his arms around his torso.

"You risked yourself to help me when I couldn't protect you or Yuuma-san. You really are my Ashikabi..." Musubi hugs Ryu a little bit tighter. "I didn't think my Ashikabi would find and help _me_ instead of the other way around." A blink is the only thing Ryu could respond with. His breath was caught in his throat when Musubi looked up to him with those loving eyes. Slowly, she closes her eyes and the distance between their faces, their lips. Ryu could only stare at the shortening space between the two and couldn't think up of something, anything at all.

Until the sound and sensation of vibration makes itself known inside Ryu's pocket.

 _'Huh?'_ /"Huh?"

Even Musubi found herself surprised at the phone suddenly vibrating. Ryu fumbled around in his pocket to find the hand-held device and successfully retrieves it after a few seconds. A thin, touch-screen phone. Unlocking the password function he set the phone up with, Ryu checked out the message he received and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed it is from Yuuma.

The following text message read...

 **"Hi, Ryu-sama~! I hope you managed to escape from that blonde man earlier! It was a good idea that you told me to split up because there was actually someone chasing me too. I didn't get to see much on detail, but she had blue eyes and hair that reached her back so be careful if you see her! P.S. I'm going back to the train station to make things easier for you to meet up (I hope!). If not, we can meet up somewhere else. - Yuuma"**

Ryu deadpanned at the text.

 _'She used magic to send me this text. Good. Can't be tracked this way. She always uses acronyms or shorter words or even those "emoticons" whenever she texts and it always gives me a hard time understanding what she sent me. Welp, at least she did it right this time.'_ Ryu sent a text message back.

 **"No, the train station is fine and thanks for the heads-up. Musubi got better and we're ready to go. Wait at the station if you happen to get there first. - Ryu"**

Ryu pushed a button to get off text messaging and pocketed the phone after replying to said message and sending it.

"Um... I'm not sure where we are and everything around me was all blurry... I'm not sure if I can take you back to the train station on my own..." Musubi stated whilst poking her index fingers together and looking down in shame. Ryu smiled and bent down to be able to look into her eyes.

'Relax. We're in an alleyway anyways, so you can't say that right now. We need to try first.'

Fires of determination flood Musubi's entire pupils and looked up with her chest puffed out in pride.

"You're right! We can't give up now! To the train station, we go~!" The equally happy-go-lucky Sekirei marches out the alley and to the busy streets of the Shinto Teito. Ryu could only chuckle in amusement as he stood back up.

 _'I'm sure we'll get there soon.'_

* * *

 ** _Time: Evening. Location: Train Station._**

* * *

 _'It took us more than two hours to get here...'_

Ryu had the sneaking suspicion that this would have happened.

He just didn't think it would have taken so long.

Musubi did get the two lost in the end and by the time one of them got the bright idea to ask for directions, nearly an hour already passed. Ryu and Yuuma could have sent pulses of energy in Morse Code to have an easier time, but enemies could have sensed the energy signatures and that would have been disastrous all on its own. To make matters, and Ryu's conscious, worse, Yuuma already arrived at the station in a mere forty-five minutes. Give or take.

"It's alright, Ryu-sama! I understand that the two of you got lost. In the end, you had the courage to ask someone for directions and that is the most important part! Trust me, I've had my share of people who were stubborn to do that on their own..." Yuuma mumbled the last part darkly to herself as she receives flashbacks to a certain fedora wearing Fallen Angel.

In other news, a _fedora wearing_ man in the Fallen Angel section of the Underworld had a loud sneeze accompanied by a cold, harsh shiver inspired by fear.

'Thanks, Yuuma. I really appreciate the sincerity.' Replied Ryu in happy manner. He's been wasting space on his notepad, apologizing to Yuuma for his tardiness for it is something he has despised to do. A habit he has made for himself such as waking up as early as five'o'clock or five-thirty in the morning, getting to school on time, and readying himself for self-discipline and training.

That brought another question in mind... More specifically, Yuuma's.

"What about your schoolwork, Ryu-sama?"

Ryu is actually still taking classes in his last year of Kuoh Academy back in his home city. Due to his late start in education. He would have been on college courses if that wasn't the case. He left in favor of dealing whatever problem is happening in Shinto Teito that was requested by Kuroka's teacher.

'I spoke to Sona and Rias about it before we left. Sona was a little tougher to reason with. Still, I managed to persuade them to pause my studies for now. I'm pretty smart anyways.' Ryu paused and gave a simple shrug, 'Won't be a problem to catch up.' Yuuma let out an "Ahh" when she finished reading the piece of paper.

'Also, we need to find a place to stay. There are things we both need to discuss and maybe Musubi can fill us in further about all of this.'

Yuuma, with no hesitation, nodded as soon as she saw the seriousness that Ryu carried in his eyes. Then Ryu turned to Musubi to which she nodded as well in agreement to answering any further questions her Ashikabi had.

* * *

 _ **Location: Inn, Lobby.**_

* * *

 _'Uhh... I forgot the name of this inn... Did it even had a name to begin with?'_

Once again, it took a while for the trio to find a suitable inn room to rent in for the time being. At least it took less time than finding the train station.

"Hoohh? A room for two pretty ladies and hot stud?" Questioned a surprisingly young appearing woman behind the counter with a sultry tone. Her dark brown hair had a wavy yet smooth texture to it, her face and eyes retained its wealth of youth, and her figure was very curvaceous too.

That question brought up three different reactions:

A roll of eyes and an expression that said "I wish it was like that" from Yuuma.

Musubi innocently asking, "Is there any food here to eat?"

And Ryu looking around the lobby before shaking his head at the lady.

'There are no hot, metal objects around here, ma'am.'

"Fufufu~. It seems we have an interesting group here. Here are your keys~. Second floor, third door to your left. Can't miss it." The woman handed them three sets of keys for each one. Ryu nodded in gratitude and took one, the two following suit. Not wasting anymore time, the three headed upstairs.

"Wait, young man."

Ryu halted his movement and returns to the front desk as the lady instructed.

"You're... Mute, aren't you?"

The only and natural response is a solid nod. A frown tugged the counter lady's lips.

"I'm very sorry that you must go through that. I'm sure you would have a magnificent voice. Maybe one day, you'll get it back." A genuine smile makes itself known on the woman's lips.

Something Ryu responded in kind.

"Go on now. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting. Maybe we could have further chit-chats in the future. Name's Aiko Amaya. What's yours, sweetie?"

Ryu blinked at the question. But still answered with honesty in his writing.

'My name is Ryu Mamoru. Nice to meet you.'

"Well, Ryu. Pleasure knowing and doing business with you." Aiko giggled at the end and watched Ryu climb up the stairs.

"'Dragon Protector,' huh? Heheh... What an adorable name."

* * *

 _ **Location: Inn, Room.**_

* * *

"Ah~! What a great bed~!" Yuuma practically threw herself unto the bed and relished the softness of the covers and pillow.

"Um... Yuuma-san? How do I call this 'room service' that it says on this paper? It says they serve food," asked an already hungry Musubi.

"Just pick up the phone right there an-" Yuuma didn't get to finish her explanation when the sound of the door opening and closing interrupted her and both supernatural females turned to see that it was Ryu.

"What happened down there, Ryu?" Musubi asked. Ryu took off his jacket, boots, and hat while Musubi was asking her question and placed them on his bed. He takes out his signature notepad and started to write on it until the room's television suddenly switched itself on. This made Musubi look at the electronic with curiosity and the other two to tense up.

Ryu blinked and Yuuma rose an eyebrow when they see a man with _wild_ white hair sitting down on an office chair behind a large, office desk. His attire was just some type of white white lab coat-slash cape with the vest and dress pants that says, "I'm a mad scientist!" His ever-shining glasses and hair only backed up what his image spoke of him.

"Nice to meet you, Ryu Mamoru! My name is Minaka Hiroto and I'm the chairman, or head if it's a better term for you, of the MBI!" The man, now revealed as Minaka, happily exclaimed who carried a Cheshire-like grin. The only reasonable thing Ryu could do was to give a nod and a friendly wave.

"Ah yes! You're mute! How unfortunate... Yet! How mysterious!" Minaka adopted the "Thinking Man" pose as he made the big reveal of Ryu's biggest problem in his life as if it was common knowledge. Surprisingly, however, Ryu and Yuuma did not even bother to react or make a rebuke. Minaka probably has performed a background check on Ryu as the "mad scientist" _is_ the head of a big company about medicine and hospitals and whatnot. Speaking of Minaka, the man took out Ryu's file and started going through it right in front of the three.

"Let's see... Perfect scores... Perfect athleticism... Oh! Didn't see this! You are into something as dangerous and fun-looking as freerunning!? Ah, caught by teachers for doing such a dangerous activity! No wonder it's on your records! Is that what kids these days are doing!? It makes sense why you were able to pull off all those stunts _and_ carrying eighty-eight at the same time! Imagine if you were a Sekirei yourself; you'd be a strong one!" Musubi perked up when she heard her number.

"It's nice to see you again, professor!" Greeted Musubi.

Minaka drew his attention away from Ryu's files to focus on Musubi, "ah, eighty-eight! How have you been doing?"

Musubi frowned at first, "not well... Two Sekirei were trying to prevent me from meeting my Ashikabi until Ryu and Yuuma-san saved me from the them twice and two strangers! They didn't feel like Sekirei either!" Musubi was smiling when she mentioned Ryu getting her away from Hibiki and Hikari, but frowned in a confused fashion at the last part.

"Yes. There have been reports of these... People, let's just say. After all the things the ruckus they've made, I'm surprised a human like him made a successful escape from one! That reminds me!" Minaka did not sound the least bit worried about the new, unprepared additions to his plan and went back to reading Ryu's files once more like it is a book off of the library.

"Parents suddenly vanished at the age of twelve! Wow! And did not join the orphanage until you passed fifteen years old. Strange indeed!" Minaka placed the folder down and rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his folded hands.

This guy kept changing subjects left and right.

"Now. After reading your personal information, let me make it up to you by telling you this little 'game' I have set up." Minaka grinned even wider as soon as he saw the tiny glint of interest in Ryu's eyes.

"I'll make it simple: Sekirei are an alien race that resemble us humans up to even ninety-nine-point-eight percent in DNA structure. The point-two percent is the superhuman abilities they have. Now, I set up to have them look for humans called 'Ashikabi' and these humans are their tickets to entering the epic fight between other Sekirei by 'winging' them through exchanging bodily fluids. Most commonly is lip contact. The more Sekirei the Ashikabi has, the higher the chances are two win! It's like a love story! But with fighting involved! It's the best of both worlds! Hahahaha!" Minaka spread his arms wide open as he yelled out the last few parts. After a few seconds, he clears his throat and continues, "And the one who wins will not only be with their Sekirei, they will ascend to be sitting on the 'Throne of the Gods' too! Hahahaha! Brilliant!" Minaka spun around in his office chair like a little kid getting a new console system just because they could.

Until he gets bonked on the head with a frying pan.

 ** _HARD._**

To the point of unconsciousness.

"Excuse me for his behavior." Spoke a stern woman that shared a similar, but less ridiculous hair as Minaka and grey eyes, something that could not be seen on Minaka due to his glasses constantly being so shiny and bright. Ryu shook his head in a way of not minding the behavior and the unnecessary apology.

"As he was saying - you are now part of the 'Sekirei Plan' and seeing your friend next to you has already heard of this information, I'm afraid to inform the both of you that neither of you can leave this city until the last Ashikabi with his or her Sekirei stands." Ryu and Yuuma nodded again in understanding.

"So they understand why, huh? Good! Glad to see we have people with common sense among us!"

Minaka, somehow, with no explanation available whatsoever, woken himself up after getting hit with a metallic object that _will_ cause blunt force trauma on a normal human being.

Apparently he's not normal.

"Alrighty then! Ta-ta!"

And the television shut itself off automatically.

The three just stared at the black screen for a few more seconds.

Until Yuuma spoke up.

"Well, that was interestin-"

The screen came back to life and shows Minaka with a large bump on his head where he got hit.

"I have forgotten to say good luck to you! Best of luck to you! Bye-bye~!"

The screen turned black once more.

No one bothered to say a word.

Ryu literally did not waste anymore time to lay down on his bed, already planning on going to sleep. Having to have left Kuroka, Shirone, a lot of his friends, and his home, the train ride, meeting aliens and Youkai, escaping said Youkai while carrying also said alien on his arms, and this talk of what sounds like a tournament makes Ryu want to sleep to make it all go away for at least the hours he'll get in his sleep. It was close to seven'o'clock, but he did not care. He just wanted rest.

 _'I don't want to ride trains again...'_

It was mostly because of the train ride.

Okay, it was entirely because of the train.

"Heheheh! Sleep well, Ryu-sama~." Yuuma stood up to gently caress Ryu's head and went back on the bed Musubi and herself were sharing, which was quite large.

"Good night, Ryu!" Cheerfully said Musubi.

"Alright, Musubi. I'll show how to call and order room service..."

* * *

 _ **Inside MBI HQ...**_

* * *

"Heeheeheehee... These new challengers... They're going to make this game even more fun, I just know it!" Yelled out Minaka for all to hear.

Of course, the woman that whacked Minaka on the head had a few things to say about that herself.

"Are you sure about that, Minaka? We have all seen that they can fight toe-to-toe against a Sekirei." Minaka ignored what she said and kept rambling about how exciting things are getting for his plan.

"I'm sure we can handle it, Takami-san."

The white haired lady turned to face a strawberry blonde hair and eye colored female, the hair tied in a long ponytail and another female who is gray haired and eyed colored with her hair spiky all-around. Both were wearing gray cloaks and black kimonos under their cloaks. Unfortunately, not much could be described as half, if not more most, of their features were hidden in the shadows.

"I am sure you can, Benitsubasa. You and Haihane next to you are known to be good at what you do, despite your differences."

"I just hope they put up a good fight."

Another gray, ponytail tied hair female comes in between the two others that are dressed similar to her. She also carried the same style of clothes as the other two do.

Except she had her eyes closed, giving her the appearance of a deceitful fox and a sly smile that did not help that appearance a tiny bit.

"With you, Karasuba, I am sure they will not last long."

* * *

 _ **Underground Outskirts of Shinto Teito...**_

* * *

"Man! Why are we here and not fighting those 'Sekirei'!?" Complained the blonde Youkai that chased Ryu and Musubi earlier. He is currently pacing around rapidly and getting more and more impatient as the seconds, minutes or even hours to him, continued to pass by.

A noticeable detail in the environment is the lack of trees around the childish yet deadly blonde. Most likely cause by his impatience.

"Relax, Slash. It won't be long now. Give them some time to take in our warnings. If they continue, we will strike." Stated the calm, black haired Youkai who was the first one Ryu and Yuuma encountered.

"Yeah? Easy for you to say, Alec! I'm not someone that likes to be patient and you know it! And who made the stupid idea of waiting!?"

"If you would actually remember... That would be me..." A voice that oozed of danger and sexuality made the two stare at the voice's origin. The only distinguishable thing from the figure is that she is a female and her long hair and eyes were colored blue.

"Yeah? Well, why can't we attack now, Viper!? Huh!? We can finish them right now, so why wait!?" Practically yelled out the man known as Slash.

"Because of three reasons, Slash. One, it would cause too much damage to the city. Two, there will be body count casualties for both sides. Three, there might be something more dangerous than these Sekirei themselves." Reasoned the man said to be Alec.

"Who? The Fallen Angel?" Inquired the female revealed as Viper. "I admit, someone of a faction, especially one of the Three Powers, are not to be trifled with, but will she give us that much trouble?"

"Not just her, Viper. The human that Slash chased. He is actually supernaturally aware." Alec ignored the wide eyed look of Slash's and chose to keep explaining himself, "he fired a shot of pure energy at the ground as a diversion. It did indeed work, but the important part is that he used magic. So he is, in fact, possibly aware of who and what we are. Question is why here of all times? Devils would not bother themselves of making property here in Youkai Territory, Fallen Angels haven't used this place as a type of trading post for information and recon, and Angels haven't made a church around these parts. This rules out the Fallen Angel being here for her own faction. She's with the man and we don't know who he is here for or on who's behalf. Sadly, Slash and I haven't gotten a good look on him."

"Wow... I thought he was just a normal human." Murmured Slash.

Viper scoffed at Slash's ignorance.

"Of course you'd think that. You don't keep yourself open-minded. Then again, you _did_ say planning or thinking was not your strong suit." Slash tried to find a rebuke to Viper's statement, but found none and kept quiet instead.

"Do not worry. Slash. We will have our chance. We simply need to move the man and Fallen Angel out of the picture before making our next plan of attack. Soon, our time will come. Very soon." Reassured Alec in a dark and ominous tone. The other two smile mischievously and nodded.

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: End_**

* * *

 **AN: Surprised? Yep, I figured. Go on to the next chapter.**

 **Seriously. Go.**

 **Why are you still here? The next chapter is just a click away.**

 **Come on, do it. You know you want to.**


	3. Wait, what?

**AN: Nice of you to actually come here to read the third chapter. Before you go reading this story any further, do take note that the Sekirei for Ryu have already been chosen.**

 **That means _NO_ requests or questions about who will be his Sekirei!**

 **Now that you know, please do enjoy the following chapter.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: Begin.**_

* * *

 _ **Day: Monday. Time: Morning. (Same) Location: Inn, Room.**_

* * *

It has been three days since Ryu and Yuuma have arrived in Shinto Teito. Three days since they have met Musubi and Ryu "winging" her. Three days since the last attack or sign of any Youkai. Even Sekirei activity has been on an all-time low. Possibly due to Sekireis still searching for their Ashikabi.

The Youkai part is what unnerves Ryu to no end.

However...

 _'How did this even happen?'_

He is busy with another type of problem.

"What's the matter?" Asked Yuuma in mock curiosity.

The response was only a small sigh.

That problem right now is...

'Musubi, why are you wearing my jacket?'

Ryu woke up this morning a little later than he usually would have and searched around for his jacket.

Then he saw Musubi wearing his jacket and a pair of pink panties.

"Well... My clothes were dirty after dinner last night and I asked Yuuma-san for an extra pair of clothes to wear..." The Sekirei trailed off after that. Ryu didn't need another hint and turned his attention to Yuuma. She was smirking widely like she accomplished something great.

"Alright alright... I told Musubi that I had my other clothes in the washer at the time and offered to take her clothes to also get washed and knowing she had no clothes, I had her wear your jacket and let her borrowed a pair of my panties. Do you like them? I think they would fit better on me than her though. What do you think?" The smirk playing Yuuma's lips did not falter and only got wider.

'The first part is a lie. You wash them with magic to save trouble and you could have taken her clothes and cleaned them instantly or even clone them! Why did you give her only your panties and my jacket!?' Ryu made his notepad face Yuuma to prevent Musubi in seeing what it said.

Yuuma only gave shrug and laid back down on her bed.

She was still smirking.

"I'll give it back to you, Ryu."

That was a sentence he did _not_ need to hear in a situation like the one they're in now. But because of being curious, Ryu _still_ turned around in time to see Musubi unbuttoning his jacket one by one.

Worst-slash-best part of it all is that she was smiling throughout the entire time.

After Musubi removed the jacket entirely, her breasts practically popped out and bounced a bit with the extra sound of actually "boing" before they finally settled down. They were cream colored and appeared to be very firm breasts and pink, little nipples only gave her large chest more glory than possible.

It didn't help when he saw how trained her body is that bolstered that sex appeal of hers.

Ryu's eyes most definitely widened and a blush logically made its appearance on his cheeks.

One of Yuuma's eyebrows twitched.

 _"I knew that she wasn't entirely 'innocent'. She's doing this on purpose."_

Two could play that game.

"You know... _My_ breasts are a lot softer and my nipples are a little bigger than hers in case you want to suck on them~." Teased Yuuma and underlined her point by squishing her breasts against his back.

Ryu's face was reaching his own level of red.

But did she stop there?

Nope!

"And remember that I can have mine get b-i-g-g-e-r~."

It didn't help that she is now next to Ryu and whispering huskily in his ear.

 _'I think... I'm going back to sleep...'_

The mute gratefully accepted back his jacket and made no hesitation to slowly turn and walk back to his bed.

And plop himself face-first on top of the bed.

Yuuma shot a victorious smirk at the brunette alien.

Musubi kept smiling like the happy Sekirei she is.

It would be considered actual "happiness" if it weren't the oozing Killing Intent coming off of her that accompanied the smile.

Yuuma retaliated with her own Killing Intent.

 _'Man... I needed that nap.'_ Ryu woke up after a two-hour power nap.

Or more like an escape nap in his case.

He took note of the lack of presence in the room. More specifically, the lack of Yuuma and Musubi.

 _'Probably went somewhere while I was asleep. It makes sense.'_

Ryu let out a big yawn of satisfaction and well-rest.

 _'And all this talk about napping made me remember about something. Ddraig has been asleep this entire time. That's weird...'_ Ryu closed his eyes and opened them again, only to see red flames all around him and a crimson colored background that shined and sparkled like a ruby.

The place Ryu is now inside is the link between his soul to the Boosted Gear itself.

Most importantly, there is a mountain-sized, red colored, four legged dragon in front of him. Sleeping peacefully. Half or most people in Ryu's case would have woken the dragon up.

But Ryu is not half or most people.

No, he silently floated towards the dragon instead.

And hugged his muzzle as best as he could.

 **[Hrm...]**

Surprisingly for others if they somehow see this, Ddraig actually _nuzzled_ Ryu's hug back and instinctively wrapped one of his wings over him and his tail for extra protection. Ryu grinned with such joy to have someone who will _always_ be with him until his time comes. Sadly, the grin turned to a frown.

 _'Sorry, Ddraig. Can't stay here for long. Need to get exercise and look for the others. I hope you'll wake up soon. We have a bunch to talk about.'_ At that moment, Ryu closed his eyes for a moment and opened them back up.

He has returned back to the physical world.

Though... He started to hear some noises coming from the other rooms...

They sounded like...

In pain?

It's been like this a while after they've registered themselves here.

Whatever.

Ryu did not waste anymore time and already start putting on his gray jacket, the cowboy boots, and his cowboy hat. Checking himself for possibly missing anything, he nods to himself once he sees everything is fine and leaves the room, locking the door behind him, and heads downstairs to the lobby floor.

"Oh, Ryu-kun. How are you?"

Ryu stopped himself when he heard the familiar voice of Aiko and turned around to face the brunette behind the counter. As always, he searches his pocket around for the notepad he carries and eventually finds it. Smiling, he responds with, 'I'm doing fine, thanks. How about you?' The woman smiles back at the usual happy atmosphere her guest emits. "I'm alright. Yuuma-san told me to pass a message to you. She said Musubi-san needed clothes, so she took her to buy them. They didn't want to disturb you." Ryu scratched his head in confusion as to why Yuuma would do that.

'I guess I'll wait for them here. No worries.' Ryu shrugged after writing on the notepad.

"My, anxious to speak with me, hmm?" Aiko giggled at her own response and then chuckled, borderline laughed, when Ryu gave an honest nod to her question that was originally rhetorical. "I can only wish that I was a few years younger... To be full on youth." Aiko full-on laughed when she saw Ryu had a "eh" expression and made a "so, so" hand movement.

"You shouldn't take your young age for granted. You're still able to do things most adults can't do." Ryu nodded at Aiko's truthful statement.

"But..."

The hesitation in Aiko's voice caught more than Ryu's attention.

'What is it?'

"It's just... Like I said... You're still young and yet you lost your voice. How did it happen if you don't mind me asking?"

 _'She must have been very patient to ask me about that. In all of the three days I've been here, not once did she try to ask me a personal question as I've shown things that don't happen on normal occasions. It's only fair I show her at the very least.'_

Ryu moved his shirt around to fully expose his neck.

In reality, he was removing an invisibility spell on the neck.

Aiko appeared to be absolutely gobsmacked and gasped at what she saw.

 _"It looks like he got burned there. How is he still alive after that?"_

There was a scar on the mute's neck, signifying how he is... Well... Mute. A contracture scar; a scar caused by exposure to fire or something that makes it appear burnt.

'I don't know either. I don't have any memory of it.' Ryu noticed Aiko was more focused on the scar than the notepad so he tapped the piece of paper a few times with his lead pencil to gain her attention back.

"Huh? Oh, I see. I'm grateful for you to tell me that. That way, I don't have ask the dumb question of how it happened. Hehehe!" _"Even though trauma is likely the reason he can't remember...'_ Aiko offered a light chuckle. Ryu joined in on the small laugh. Silently, of course.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, with Yuuma and Musubi..._**

* * *

Yuuma and Musubi are currently walking around the bustling streets after a few hours of shopping and eating. The two are carrying their own bags of clothes and Musubi carrying extra bags that mostly have desserts inside of them. Their choice of apparel the same as the first time they met.

"I never thought of doing this! Thank you, Yuuma-san!" Earnestly thanked Musubi. This got Yuuma highly perplexed and turned to Musubi with an expression that made her appear as if she just saw something horrendous.

"Wait, hold on. You plan to tell me you _never_ thought of using that MBI credit card of yours? Are you serious?" Yuuma facepalmed as soon as she saw Musubi nodding without any hesitation.

Right, these MBI credit cards are given to every Sekirei to gift their Ashikabi with or keep them for safeguarding. The Sekirei can use the cards themselves but the primary purpose is for the Ashikabis' desire to use them as they see fit. Ryu was text messaged by Minaka about the credit card two days ago.

The message read,

 **"I forgot to mention that number eighty-eight has a credit card you can use as you see fit and spend as much funds on ANYTHING you want! A good compensation for taking part in this dangerous and exciting game to be sure!"**

Oh wait, it also said,

 **"P.S. I would have told you sooner if I didn't receive that concussion yesterday. Don't worry! It was only temporarily!"**

How does a normal human being get _temporary_ concussions?

Then again, Ryu's a perfect example.

"Have you realized how much trouble you could have saved yourself and not starve yourself _before_ you met Ryu?"

Musubi stared up to the sky with a look of consideration and a mumble of, "I wonder why I didn't think of that sooner?"

 _"This woman has reached new levels of 'bubbly' if she was going to kill herself from hunger like that..."_ Sarcastically thought Yuuma. Disregarding that thought, Yuuma pressed on with another subject of somewhat relevance.

"So... Ryu 'winged' you, right?"

Musubi smiled at the question.

"Uh huh!"

Yuuma's eyes were beginning to show uneasiness.

"That guy says you need to exchange... Bodily fluids... Like a kiss?"

"Yup!"

A frown replaces her neutral expression.

"Did-... Did you two kiss?"

"I kissed him, but yeah! We did!"

A light exhale of a sigh escapes Yuuma's lips.

"Guess what Kuroka told me was true."

"Huh?"

"No, nothing. That's for another time. Maybe."

Musubi's smile turned to a frown.

"May I ask you something about him?"

Yuuma's neutral expression returned and nodded in silence.

"What is wrong with him?"

The Fallen Angel began to leak a bit of Killing Intent. Slight shivers went up and down the spines of people passing by the two. Even Musubi felt a little unnerved from feeling the hostility resonated out of her friend.

"What do you mean by that?"

Musubi frantically waved her hands in front of her, panic written all over her face.

"N-no! I didn't mean it in a bad way! It just..."

Musubi lowered her arms and stares at the concrete sidewalk.

"It doesn't feel like my Ashikabi. I feel two... Things. Like they're between me and my real Ashikabi. I have seen him act like two different people too. In one moment, he's happy and running around with me, the next he's serious and assertive..."

At this point, Musubi no longer cared for the familiar sensation of Killing Intent. Not that it mattered. Yuuma stopped releasing it anyway.

"I know what you're trying to say and I have the answer to it." Yuuma payed no mind to Musubi's intense gaze.

"He has a mental disease. 'Multiple Personality Disorder'. I say mental disease because it does mess around in someone's psyche like a virus does to the physical body. What he has is basically different people or in his unique case, different ways to see things. He sees the world through sets of eyes. Does that answer your question?"

Musubi nodded in appreciation. She now shared the neutral facial expression Yuuma has.

"It does help me understand him a bit better. But this disease... These two things feel almost alive..." Musubi barely made it an audible mumble. Yuuma still understood through her superhuman hearing and got intrigued by the way the Sekirei worded it.

"Do you know why he's like that, Yuuma-san?"

Yuuma thought about how she will answer that question.

"Ryu will tell you that himself when he feels comfortable."

"Okay, I understand."

"By the way, have you been sleeping well lately? You're starting to get more and more groggy lately."

Musubi's "idiot hair" stuck out and returned to her "waving arms frantically and smiling" panic mode.

"No no no no! I'm perfectly fine! Nothing's wrong!"

Yuuma, just like an impenetrable fortress, did not budge by Musubi's reassurance.

"It's because of the noises next door, huh?"

The brunette Sekirei's attitude went to a different direction by going straight to crestfallen; hair hiding her eyes and face staring at the floor once more.

The idiot hair went limp too.

"It's alright. We'll head back to the inn and ask Ryu if we can move to another inn. I'm pretty sure going to another room won't help if you're someone with heightened senses. I'm sure he'll understand."

No response.

 _"That's expected. There's no need to feel bad. It's not like it's her fault. We can't use our magic to block the noises either or we'll probably get traced through that. I'm not bothered by the sound of 'that' and Ryu is used to sleeping anywhere. Then there's Musubi who is not used to it and we'll need her at full strength if she's going to participate in the fight."_

And so, the shopping duo make their next destination to the inn.

* * *

 _ **Back to Ryu...**_

* * *

'Why did the orange stop in the middle of the road?'

"Why did it stop?"

'Because it ran out of juice!'

Insert the punch line drum.

"Heheheh..."

After a light conversation between the two, Ryu decided he would switch things up with some light-hearted jokes.

'Okay, this next one-'

"We're back, Ryu-sama!"

"Ah, Yuuma-san! Musubi-san! Welcome back."

Ryu took a glance behind him in time to see Yuuma and Musubi walking in just now.

And immediately pouted.

Yuuma saw the pout and caught drift almost instantly on why he was looking a little bit sour.

"I was only joking around, Ryu-sama. I didn't think it would be _that_ bad for you."

She took notice that he did not look amused and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his back on her.

"I didn't mean it, Ryu-sama." Yuuma tries to reason with the stubborn male.

"Ryu-sama..."

No physical sign shows that he is listening.

By this point, Aiko figured out something went down and is responsible for Ryu's late wake-up routine so she wasn't going to bother.

It's sometimes makes it funnier to sit back and not do anything too.

"Ryu-samaaaaa~." Yuuma pokes his back a couple of times.

Not even a twitch.

"I'm sorry, Ryu-sama..." Whimpered out Yuuma. She was starting to actually feel genuinely bad this point.

"Can I have a hug. Please?"

A single flinch.

"Pretty please, Ryu-sama?"

Eyes beginning to twitch.

"Ryu-kun..."

Ryu turned his neck ever so slightly and caught sight of Yuuma spreading her arms wide open for a hug, pouting adorably.

 _'...'_

He finally caved in and hugs her. Yuuma smiled at the hug and happily hugs him back.

"Ryu-sama is a big fan of hugs~."

A light tap on her head by Ryu told her to not push it. Yuuma giggled before letting out a small apology and the two tightened their hugs on each other.

"Ryu-sama's muscles feels so warm and soft~..." Mumbled out Yuuma. She pressed her body more against his to emphasize the comfort level.

"Um... I would like to hug him too!" Pleaded out Musubi.

Once a moment or two passed the current hugging duo broke the hug and a new one is formed through Musubi and Ryu now hugging each other instead. Yuuma smiles at how close Ryu and Musubi are already.

 _"It reminds me of Ryu-sama and I. He welcomed me with open arms and let me enter deeper into his heart."_

"Looks like Ryu-kun is a bit of a playboy~." Teased Aiko.

"You really have _no idea_ , Aiko-san." Yuuma said.

The two shared a small laugh.

"Yuuma-san is right - Ryu's muscles are so comfy~." Musubi nestled her face in between Ryu's neck and shoulder.

If one could not tell already, Ryu likes giving and receiving hugs.

A lot.

"What brings you two back here? You came here an hour earlier than you said you would." Said Aiko. Yuuma thought right now is a good opportunity to tell her why they arrived early. "We're thinking about heading out to another place to stay. The noises at night keep us awake." Honestly replied Yuuma. Ryu and Musubi stopped hugging and faced the other two when they heard this. Aiko got the picture immediately and nodded in understanding though she looked a bit sad. "I understand. Will there be anything else before you go?" The three shook their heads and Yuuma showed her the bags she is carrying.

Aiko got a big shock out of that.

"Oh my. Why haven't you offered to carry their bags, Ryu-kun?" Ryu extended his hand out in offer to assist with the baggage they carried. Yuuma shook her head, "I'm stronger than you think, Aiko-san. Back where I come from, everyone had a little motto that said if you can't do something for yourself, you can't do anything at all." Ryu figured that she meant by the world of supernatural. Musubi wanted to add her own reason in, "I'm also strong and I want to get stronger to protect Ryu!" He smiles at Musubi and how willing she was to protect him.

 _'Don't worry, Musubi. I won't be weighing you down nor will you be needing to protect me.'_

"Oh my~. Ryu is fortunate to have independent girls like you~. Very well, for the four days you've been her-" Aiko couldn't finish saying the payment.

Why?

Because Yuuma showed her the MBI credit card.

That's why she stopped talking. She figured she didn't need to say it at this point.

"Oh wow... I did not expect you to be in contact with that company." Wordlessly, Aiko swiped the card and processed the transaction. In the meantime, Ryu returned the keys back to Aiko, who returned the card. She offered a charming smile to the three, then her eyes landed on Ryu.

"Maybe we'll see each other around. You would be surprised how often you meet someone you've already met in a big city like this." Ryu made chuckle motions and nodded to how truthful that statement is in general.

"I brought you something too, Aiko-san. You know, for a good bye present after we decided to leave the inn." Yuuma handed Aiko a bag with kimonos and dresses inside.

"I-I can't jus-"

"You've helped us more than you think, Aiko-san. Please, take them." Yuuma said with a serious tone in the beginning. After hearing how serious she sounded, Aiko reluctantly took the bag and thanked her.

'I guess this is a farewell for now. It was nice talking to you, Aiko.' Ryu tips his hat and made his way outside with the other two following behind him.

"By the way, Ryu... Did you ever take the time to see the name of this inn?" Asked Yuuma.

'No. I didn't. I feel pretty bad that after all my coming and goings I've made, I never took the time to see what this place is called.'

"Now's your chance. Look up."

Ryu did as instructed and read the sign.

 **"Night Rain Love Inn."**

He stood there, shocked at what the sign said.

"Do you see what I tried to show you before?" Yuuma crossed her arms under her breasts, causing them to bounce. Ryu looked back down and nodded.

'Yeah. Aiko must be the owner of this inn. Her last name is Amaya. Amaya means "Night Rain" in English.'

 _"Not the answer I was looking for, but it's expected of him. Wait..."_

"I actually did not make those connections. Wow." Yuuma lowers her arms, contemplating on the logic behind Ryu's analysis.

Still, he was missing the big picture.

"But that's not what I wanted to show you. The 'Love Inn' part. Do you know what that means?"

Ryu shook his head.

She sighed at his naivety. Again, expected. So, she calmly walks towards him and whispered it in his ear.

"And that's the difference between 'Inn' and 'Love Inn.' Got it?"

 _'...'_

 _'...'_

"Well?"

Ryu calmly walks from the two and towards a streetlight pole.

And proceeds to bash his head against the metal object. Repeatedly.

* * *

 _ **Time: Evening. Location: Shinto Teito, Park (One of many).**_

* * *

After stopping Ryu from his head-bashing, hiding the shopping bags though the use of magic, and eating lunch, the three have gone out on a quest for an inn to stay in (no pun intended) that was _not_ a love inn. So far, no such luck. Currently, the three of them are sitting on a wooden bench, thinking of any alternatives.

"We've gone to so many places already... All of them either full or-" Ryu put a hand over Yuuma's mouth to stop her from continuing. A short moment afterwards, he removed his hand to let her speak again.

'We should make a house.'

"Not a good idea, Ryu-sama. We'll be tracked that way if we do. It's the same reason why I didn't use 'that' when I needed to wash my clothes and Musubi's." Then she gives him a not-so-nice stare. "You know, for someone who is very paranoid about using 'that', you haven't been thinking about the consequences if we did use 'it'."

Ryu could only lower his head and wallow in despair. _'How could have I been so ignorant and careless?'_ Were the self-bashing thoughts coursing through his conscious.

While Ryu is in despair, Yuuma decides that is a good time to speak to Musubi. "Sorry that we haven't been able to find a place to stay, Musubi." Musubi cheerfully smiles like usual, "It's okay, Yuuma-san. As long as I'm with my Ashikabi, it doesn't matter to me where I am." The Sekirei delicately places her head on Ryu's slumped shoulder that soon perked up when he heard what she said.

'Thanks, Musubi.' Thanked Ryu. earning him a snuggle by his Sekirei. Yuuma decided to join in on the fun and mimics Musubi, but using Ryu's other shoulder instead.

This was getting them some attention from walking bystanders. Not that they cared if they were.

'Hey, Musubi... I have a question.'

"I'll answer it to the best of my abilities."

'I've been having strange dreams for the past few nights. You were in there... And one or two others. They felt really real too. I could sense them even.'

Yuuma peeked over to see what he wrote and her curiosity is peaked shortly after reading what it said.

"It's a reaction between a Sekirei and their destined Ashikabi. When both are asleep, there is a chance the two will become 'linked' and show that they are destined to be together through that link. The Musubi you dreamt was the real me. But the Sekirei can't see other Sekirei. The link has to be direct. Did you have a clear view of them?"

 _"Wow. These bonds are pretty deep if something like that happens. I wonder what other things happen between an Ashikabi and a Sekirei."_ Thought Yuuma in amazement.

'I remember now... Both had brown hair. One had the same volume as yours while the other one is lighter. Like... Blonde brown, if that makes sense. The rest is a blur, sorry...'

Musubi shook her head to show it is fine if he couldn't explain in details.

"No no, it's fine. It's always like that as far as what I heard other Sekirei said."

Ryu's eyes shifted back to the ground.

 _'...'_

After some thinking, Ryu stands up slowly to keep the females from bonking themselves on the head with their own heads.

'Come on. We're going back to searching.'

* * *

 _ **Time: Night. Location: Maison Izumo Inn, Entrance.**_

* * *

Yuuma softly exhaled as Ryu, Musubi, and herself stood in front of a two-floor, old-fashioned Japanese building made entirely of wood.

"Okay... We haven't tried this one. Let's see how this goes. Cross your fingers." Yuuma said in hope. Ryu nodded in similar optimism and knocked on the door a few times.

After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal a young woman with purple hair and eyes wearing a top white haori and purple hakama that are wrapped with a purple sash. Hair is tied in a ponytail using a white ribbon save for several bangs that were not tied up, framing her face.

"May I help you?"

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: End.**_

* * *

 **AN: Yaaayyy! The moment people have (probably) been waiting for! Before anyone gets any ideas: Aiko will be in future chapters every now and then. She isn't "cannon fodder" or something along those lines. Yes, she has history, she has a life, she has emotions like an actual character, and a character I personally created. No, she isn't modeled or inspired by any pre-existing characters. At least, not that I'm aware of.**

 **Jus- just go to the next chapter. Just go.**


	4. The Hannya, the Ninja, and- WHOA THERE

**I'm kind of figuring that there will be people asking me whatever the questions will be about, but the only thing I'll say: Keep reading the story.**

 **But I will say that I made Miya's eyes purple because I can and it's cooler that way. For those of you who don't know (or have yet to find out), her eyes are brown in the anime even though they do look kinda purple.**

 **Hey, it's the little details that matter.**

 **That said, enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter** **3: Begin**_

* * *

 _ **(Same) Time: Night. Location: Maison Izumo Inn, Kitchen.**_

* * *

"Sigh..."

A heavy sigh left a silver haired man's mouth who leaned against a wall.

"Are you alright, Homura?" Worriedly questioned the purple woman. The answer she receives is a shake of the head by Homura, who is the one that sighed.

"No. Everything has gone out of whack, Miya. I don't mean by the little 'game' that crazy fruit loop made, I mean the random appearance of these... People. I'm not sure what to call them. They look like a human, talk like a human, walk like one, but they sure as heck don't feel like one." Answered Homura.

"Are they no more different than we are?" Reasoned the lady called Miya.

"Not even close. At least we share identical DNA structure and need of oxygen and other organs. I burned through some weak ones and they somehow kept fighting without a lung! Their blood is thick with power too. Nasty, relentless, and merciless power. I had some fights that I needed to retreat. If I didn't, destruction would be all around me and these people and you've seen some property damage my fights created whenever I fought them. I won some, tied to others, and needed to retreat a few because of ambushes and well-planned executes they made. I can say for sure that they are smart." Relented the pyrokinetic user.

"Oh... Dear..." Miya looked down as she muttered. Soon, she looked back up with more worry. "You are fine, right?" Homura nodded ever so slightly.

"If I had an Ashikabi already, I would be fairing better against these threats. But I have a feeling I haven't fought the best to offer and I might soon if I don't play it carefully. They are targeting our race too, Miya. _Just. Us._ "

"We should be fighting them and not ourselves. But unless something is done about Minaka, we won't get anywhere..."

Their discussion is suddenly halted by the sound of knocking.

"I doubt they followed me. Want me to answer still?" Offered Homura. Miya shook her head softly and left the kitchen to the living room. Opening the front door, she is greeted by the sight of three, interesting teenagers.

A brown haired and eyed boy that dressed like a cowboy that is Ryu.

A black-nette and purple eyed girl that dresses herself like any other girl who is Yuuma.

 _"I can tell she's a no-nonsense woman. Better be respectful."_ Mentally evaluated Yuuma on Miya. She has been around people like that to know how to identify one by their tone and posture.

And...

 _"What!? Is she who I think it is!?"_ Miya began to panic on the inside once her eyes landed on Musubi. _"There's no mistaken, there is no one else that looks like_ her, _"_ she continued to think. She files those thoughts for a later time and smiles.

"May I help you?" She asks.

"Pardon us for intruding, ma'am," began Yuuma, "we have been looking for an inn to stay at. So far, no such luck..." She sighed at the end of her short explanation.

Judging by the Miya's widening smile, the three were in luck.

"I have rooms to spare. I am sure you are aware of the rent the sign showed, yes?" Miya asks the three while allowing them in.

"Fifty-thousand Yen a month, ma'am." Curtly replied Yuuma, earning her a nod from the purple-nette.

"My name is Maya Asama. I am the landlady of this inn." Miya bows as she introduces herself.

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Asama-san. Mine is Yuuma Amano." Yuuma bows too.

"It is nice to meet you. I'm Musubi." Musubi also bows in respect.

"..."

Miya began to wonder why she did not hear the male's introduction and looked up in curiosity.

What she saw pricked yet warmed her heart.

'The pleasure is all mine. My name is Ryu Mamoru.'

Not only is he holding his notepad in one hand, he has his hat removed and held over his chest using his other hand, and also bowing to show respect.

"Hey."

The three turn to the one that spoke and see a male with silver hair wearing a buttoned up, white long-sleeved shirt and black pants. His build is entirely lean, but packed some definite muscle. Ryu could immediately tell he is more on the speed side than power.

"Oh, do forgive my ignorance. His name is Homura. He is one of the residents that lives here." Explained Miya.

Just as Ryu put his hat back on, he approaches Homura for a handshake instead of bowing. He figured that Homura is not one for formalities. Fortunately, his intuition is correct and Homura shook his hand gladly and sees the mute holding up the same note he showed Miya.

"Nice to meet you, Mamoru-san. Mine is Homura, like Miya said. Call me what you wish." Homura smiles at the end of his introduction.

Yuuma stares in absolute shock. Perhaps it is because she has discovered something importan-

 _"I did not think we'd meet another bishounen like Ryu. I thought they were endangered!"_

... Moving on...

"Um... Asama-san-" began Yuuma.

"-please, call me Miya." Interrupted Miya.

"Thank you, Miya. I was wondering if we can pay the rent in advance."

"That's fine."

Yuuma took out the MBI credit card. As soon as Miya sees it, her expression darkens and hate begins flooding her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I do not accept credit cards like those."

The Fallen Angel is taken aback by how fast Miya rejected payment through the card. Ryu saw and heard the attempted transaction and decides to step in, already taking out his wallet and the cash required. The landlady's dark and angered expression soothed itself away and a smile replaced it.

"My, my. You seem to be prepared, Mamoru-san. But the question is if you will all share the same room or separately."

Ryu looks at Yuuma and Musubi questioningly, waiting to hear their decisio-

"I'll be sharing the room with Ryu!" Chirps Musubi.

 _'That was fast!'/"That was fast!"_ Are the exact same thoughts of Ryu and Yuuma.

"I'll be doing the same then. I do not wish to be a burden to Ryu-sama by requesting a separate room." Boldly spoke Yuuma.

"But all of you must abide to some rules I have established."

With three nods of confirmation, she began listing her rules off by raising a finger and the finger count increased with each rule added.

"There will be no violence, no harsh language, no sexual contact, no nudity, and two meals will be provided per day. One for breakfast and the other for dinner. Tardiness, if not given proper reason, will not be excused and you must alert me beforehand when you are going somewhere else to eat."

Again, she received three collective nods of understanding.

Except Musubi. She only understood the meals part and the violence part which meant no shadow-sparring and frowned because of that. She only nodded because her Ashikabi nodded.

Oh boy.

Homura himself stood slack-jawed at what he just saw. Or better yet, what he _didn't_ see.

 _"She didn't conjure up an oni mask or release any Intent like she always does!"_

"Good. I am glad you three understand. Well then, how about I prepare dinner for all of you?"

'That would be lovely, thank you.'/"Yes, please."/"Great! Thanks a lot!" Responded Ryu, Yuuma, and Musubi in that order.

"Hey, Miya, what's going on? I heard more people here." Came a female voice from upstairs. Everyone turned to the staircase to see who it was, though Miya and Homura knew.

Ryu regretted making the choice to look and turned around when he saw the one walking downstairs.

The female that came down the stairs is only clothed with a pink bra and pink panties, both having a ribbon at the front of both articles of clothing and showing her fit figure with large breasts. Her hair and eyes had the same tone of brown as Musubi's and has most of her hair tied up too, but her hair still nearly reached the floor. Her height could be estimated around Musubi's and so can her age, which both appeared to be teens.

Homura muttered, "she's doomed."

Yuuma had a calm facade, but inside, she continued to wonder how they kept meeting with women that have chest sizes like her own.

Musubi tilted her head in an adorable fashion, curious about the newcomer.

Miya, though...

Not happy-fun-times. That's the only thing that can describe the miko landlady.

"What have I told you about dressing appropriately, Uzume?"

"I'm at least wearing panties this time."

 _"Well then."_ Yuuma thought evenly. Ryu tilted his hat down to try and cover his eyes and increasing blush. Homura mentally sent Uzume his sympathies.

Miya began releasing Killing Intent and condensed it to create a purple aura of death around with an oni mask right next to her.

 **"I will make sure to punish you accordingly on a later date, Uzume."**

Musubi, Homura, and Uzume shivered in fright at the feeling and appearance of her Intent.

 _"I've felt way worse than that."_ Remarked the Fallen Angel in the form of a thought.

Ryu, however, is not looking okay. Not at all. Even the blush was knocked out of his cheeks.

His eyes were trained on Miya. His eyes show mixed emotions about the Killing Intent he is feeling that he has only felt through enemies. Like a robot locking on to a target but did not know what to do about said target, he did not know how to stop it without revealing their location, resolving it peacefully, or injuring, possibly killing, someone.

That troubled him.

Eventually, Miya stopped releasing it when she realized that she had guests and smiles at them like nothing happened.

"Please, forgive my... Guest and my... Way of setting things in line, let's just say."

Yuuma shook her head to tell Miya it is fine.

Ryu snapped out of his trance-like state and seemed to have returned to normal.

Uzume's eyes landed on Ryu's face- er, the side of his face since he is looking at Miya.

"Whoa... Who's the hunk?"

"Uzume. Clothes. **Now**."

"Fine, fine. Geez..."

Ryu tilted his hat back in the right place, blinking as he did so. Miya giggles at how he looks like a child peeking out from hiding.

"You can place your jacket, hat, and shoes near the entrance. The coat hangar is next to the door."

Ryu heads immediately for the coat hangar to place his jacket and hat on the wooden pole. Next, he takes off his boots carefully and places them next to the other pairs of shoes. Musubi and Yuuma follow Ryu's action by taking off their own shoes, or boots in Musubi's case. Miya clasped her hands together happily.

"Now, I believe it is about time I make the food."

'I'll help!'/"I'll help!" Wrote/Yelled out both Ryu and Yuuma. Miya blinks in surprise, but smiles still.

"Thank you. Though the kitchen will get crowded if it's all three of us."

Yuuma shot Ryu a look that he came to be far too familiar with. One that told him to let her handle it. Sighing, Ryu nodded and wrote down, 'I'll be in our room then. I need to think about some things anyway.'

"Oh, that reminds me. Your room is next to Uzume's upstairs; fourth door to your left."

Nodding, Ryu went upstairs to check out their new living quarters, failing to see Uzume peeking out through a small opening on her room's door.

* * *

 _ **Location: Ryu's Room...**_

* * *

 _'Ahh... What am I going to do?'_

Currently, Ryu is pacing about the new room he and the others will be staying. It is a nice and modest room. The expectations were met as it is a classic, Japanese building and the only thing in the room are the futons Ryu set up. The floor's green, the walls' yellow, and a single lamp-like bulb is the only thing giving the room light. Of course, there is a window and a closet for clothes that he took out from his pocket dimension via magic circle. He could only make the use of magic as quick as he could and hope it cannot be tracked or at least easily so.

 _'I have gathered a lot of information in a span of a few days, but it's not enough for me to make a choice! I need to figure out the Youkais' motive. I already got the human or Sekirei or whatever side of the story. But how do I approach a Youkai without starting something? Argh!'_

After a lot of self-recon and looking over mental notes, the brunette human threw himself on his futon in exasperation.

 _ **[You sound a bit troubled there, partner.]**_ Spoke an amused voice inside Ryu's head.

 _'Ddraig!'_

Ryu's surroundings changed to the flaming and red environment when he goes inside the Boosted Gear's link, showing he is now in his psyche. Although, he is still laying down.

 **[Forgive me for sleeping quite a bit. While I may not need rest, I can still dream** **.]** States Ddraig in a sage-like tone.

 _'It's fine! You couldn't have woken up at a better time! A lot has happened and I got a bunch of information about what has been going on!'_ Thought-yelled Ryu.

This _definitely_ got Ddraig's curiosity _and_ attention.

 **[This is great news. Any information is helpful and if collected as much as you say you have, then this will give us an easier time to uncover what is happening.]**

 _'First off, the "foreign life" are actually extraterrestrials; aliens! They came from space! But they are ninety-nine-point-eight percent similar to us in DNA structure. The point-two percent is the superhuman abilities that they carry. I don't know the details of their abilities other than the strength, speed, and endurance sky-rocketing past human standards to supernatural standards.'_

Ddraig motions Ryu to continue.

 _'Secondly, these aliens, called "Sekirei", were modified by the head of the MBI company, Minaka Hiroto by sealing off their full potential and requiring to find their chosen ones that are called "Ashikabi" and perform fluid exchanges to bond. Most of the time, it's through a kiss. And finding them will allow the Sekirei to compete in the "Sekirei Plan" which is basically an all-out war. An Ashikabi can hold more Sekirei and the more Sekirei the Ashikabi has, the higher their chances to win are. The plan has not been executed yet probably because they're waiting for most of the Sekirei to find their Ashikabi.'_

The dragon visibly frowns when he hears about that.

 **[As you and I suspected. The human has created this city for war. I suspect this little "game" of his is made to be a secret and now you cannot escape. I am also safe to assume because you have shared Amano the information on what occurred, she too cannot leave this city.]**

Ddraig's tone made itself clear that it is not a question.

 _'The Youkai are trying to remove all of the Sekirei and probably try to claim or reclaim this city as their own. But that last part is only a theory. I can still be wrong. Yuuma and I have encountered two. I was chased by the second one we've met and there was a third one that attempted to get Yuuma. Don't worry though, I didn't use any magic to escape the chase. However, I did use a magic blast to create a diversion at the first encounter.'_

 **[Highly logical. I must also congratulate you. Escaping someone from the supernatural through normal means is a great feat all on its own.]**

The mute beams at the compliment.

 **[But I can sense someone is connected to your core. One of us can easily sever it as simple as you breathing, but the fact that it is there is what concerns me.]**

Ryu nodded.

 _'I "winged" a Sekirei. A term used when you gain a Sekirei to your team.'_

 **[I see... I can feel this life force clearly like a book. Hmm... Musubi. Interesting.]** Mused Ddraig. The mute silently chuckles. He's not surprised about Ddraig being able to read someone if they are connected to his core since the Sacred Gear is connected to him albeit on a _far_ deeper level.

 **[Is it alright to ask of you to relay me the details of what occurred through memory transfer?]** Ryu nods to the dragon's request and begins to share so far of what happened during the past three days.

 **[I see... A lot has happened in the first day we arrived... This is indeed problematic if you cannot use any of your powers without revealing your capabilities. You may not have noticed for they are hiding their energy signatures well, but there are four more of these "Sekirei" in this inn. This does not include eighty-eight.]**

 _'Wait... Four? There's Miya, Homura, and Uzume... Who's the fourth?'_

Before they could go any further, the faint sound of knocking coming from the outside world disrupted them.

"Ryu-sama! Dinner is finished!"

Ryu returns back to the physical world once he hears Yuuma's voice. The sound of rain hitting the glass made its way to his ears and sees that it is raining outside. Ignoring that, he gets up and opens the door to go downstairs to the kitchen.

 _ **[I really must congratulate you once more, partner. You have acquired a chock-full of information in a matter of days.]**_ Praised his draconic companion.

 _'Thanks, I tried my best. We need to know as much as possible before we can make a decision on how we handle this entire problem. Better yet,_ what _decision we can make in the end._ ' Thought back Ryu in a serious manner.

The man stops to witness the banquet of food Yuuma and Miya prepared.

'Wow... That's amazing!'

"Hehe, thanks. Go on and eat." Said Yuuma.

Ryu sat down at the table and thanked them for the food before feasting on some of the dishes, Homura, Yuuma, Miya, Musubi, and Uzume doing the same.

And yes, Uzume is now wearing proper clothing. Pink pajamas, to be exact.

 _ **[This is a first.]**_

 _'What?'_

 ** _[These Sekirei. They do not carry any magic and I cannot rank any of their four capabilities because they have none. Their life force, however, is at Rank Three for Homura and Miya, same for the one in hiding. Eighty-eight and Uzume are at Rank Two though Uzume is on a lower level, possibly from her lack of finding a "chosen". Such strange requirements if Sekirei wish to use the full extent of their abilities. While I understand why, I still find it strange.]_**

 _'Maybe they use their energy to-'_

 ** _[Use any of their abilities like strength and speed? They do. Their powers rely entirely on their Ki; their life force.]_**

 _'Oohhh, okay.'_

"How is the food, Ryu-sama?"

Once again, Ryu is interrupted by the sound of knocking, right when he was about to respond too. Before anyone else made a move, Ryu got up and headed out to open the front door.

He blinks when he sees a man that looked a year older than he is. His height towers over Ryu's by about half a foot. His grey eyes staring straight at Ryu's brown ones. Ryu also sees he has black, messy hair that is also drenched and wet by the rain. Same thing could be said for his gray shirt, green jacket, bluish-gray pants, and white sneakers.

'May I help you?'

"Uhh... Yeah. I'm Minato Sahashi. I, uhh, noticed there was a sign that said this is an inn and... I need a place to stay." Minato said in an uneasy manner and even bows towards the mute.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: End.**_

* * *

 **AN: "What!? Minato is in the story!?" Yeah, he is. I'm not one to abandon original main characters (except Issei cuz of Ryu wielding Ddraig and whatnot). The chapter's short, but that's on purpose. This is to show the characters and all that good stuff. Go on and read the next one. I'm sure your interest is peaked. Or it's not and you're just reading it because you got nothing better to do.**


	5. Exercise, Skinship, and More Exercise

**AN: Yo. Pretty surprised at the count of how many chapters I had prepared, huh? Before anyone asks, the room is under the name of Ryu because he's paying it. In reality, it just makes scene changes a lot easier for me. With all that said and done, the chapter's mostly going to be on Ryu and Yuuma getting used to their new lifestyle.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4: Begin**_

* * *

 _ **One Week Later...**_

 _ **Day: Thurday. Time: Morning. Location: Shinto Teito, Rooftops.**_

* * *

A man wearing a gray hoodie that has "Protect" on the back in white and bold letters, black and baggie pants, white running shoes, and gray combat gloves could be seen running across the roofs of what the city had to offer. From front-flipping over ventilation shafts, to jumping over fences placed on said rooftops, to leaping towards the next roof, it could be quite clear that this man is doing what many consider as "free-running" or parkouring; the act of moving at a rapid pace around an area and running through the mentioned area, climbing over obstacles, and jumping from one building roof to the next one available. If someone tried to sneak a peek on this sportsman, they would find not much help in identifying him for he wore his hood over his head, leaving only his lower sections of his face uncovered.

Next to him, is the Sekirei number eighty-eight, Musubi, wearing her usual mini-skirt miko outfit. She is currently joining the man in his "free-running" activities and managing to remain at the same speed he is currently going at.

 _'Alley-oop!'_

The man grabbed on to a stationary crane's hook and swung himself to another building he could not make it by jumping. By human standards, anyway. Combat rolling to prevent any damage from hitting the ground, he continues to run as he pleases. Musubi did the same thing when the crane swung at her direction.

 _'I almost forgot how much fun it is to free-run after that train ride!'_ Yelled the man in glee within the confinements of his mind. He could not ask for anything better right now.

Well... He could...

But that's besides the point.

"This is so much fun! It's a lot more challenging than just jumping around buildings! We should be doing this much more often!" Cheerfully exclaims Musubi, relishing in the feeling of the cool, fresh air. The man gives her a thumbs to that idea.

 _'Hmm?'_

Through his peripherals, the hooded man spots something, or someone, moving at rapid speeds. True to his sight, it is a woman with blonde, wavy hair, oceanic blue eyes, and a black dress with the chest area of the dress colored in white. Unlike him, the woman had no problem hopping on other rooftops in one single jump. Musubi follows the direction he was facing and finds the woman he has his eyes set on. She curiously what that woman is doing.

 _"She's a Sekirei, like me,"_ were Musubi's thoughts.

The man, however, figured it is not really his business, so he ignores the blonde in the distance and checks the time through the positioning of the Sun.

 _'About fifty minutes past six. We should get back before it reaches seven.'_ He calmly thought. Now having a destination set, the runner leapt forward, now plummeting straight to the concrete sidewalk which can kill a normal human...

Only to catch himself by grabbing onto a horizontal pole sticking out of the wall. He spun around a few times before letting it go, landing on an assortment of boxes, and finally jumping from the boxes and landing safely on the ground.

Musubi kept up with him by jumping on a window sill, to a streetlight pole, and then landing back on the ground.

This got several reactions out of passing-by people. Most clap at their performances while the rest ignore what they witnessed. The man tilts his head in gratitude and continues down his journey. Musubi waved and thanked the audience though her expression turns to one of shock when she realizes that the man left already and ran after him.

* * *

 ** _Location: Maison Izumo Inn._**

* * *

"Is the food ready, Yuuma-san?" Asked Miya

"Just about, Miya-san!" Yelled out Yuuma from the kitchen.

Miya is currently setting up the plates and drinks while Yuuma is making the finishing touches for the dishes. Minato, Homura, and Uzume sat patiently at the dinner table as per Miya's request.

"Hey, where's hot stuff?" Questions Uzume. Yuuma hears Uzume's inquiry and chooses to answer it for her, "Ryu-sama is gone and has taken Musubi on his usual 'city mapping'. Basically, he's going around the buildings' roofs and bouncing around them. He's pretty much one of those free-runners in the end. There weren't so many back then, but their numbers are getting bigger and bigger." Minato found himself blinking when hearing that one of the people here can free-run in a city like the one they're in. Homura wearily sighs at the lack of the two energetic brunettes.

"If they do not get here soon..." Homura stole a glance at Miya's direction. Miya only continues to smile, which widens when she hears the front door open and close.

"Well, I'll be darned," mutters Homura.

"We're back!" Announces Musubi, getting a "welcome back" from pretty much everyone. The male removes his hoodie, now revealing himself to be Ryu and his white long-sleeved shirt, along with his shoes and gloves and placing them away neatly and orderly. Musubi shadows Ryu by removing her gloves and boots.

'You seriously have to tell me how you got those awesome gloves, Musubi.' Wrote down the mute. Musubi closes her eyes and smiles in a nervous manner. "I'm sorry, Ryu. These gloves are actually are specially made for me." Ryu snaps his fingers in frustration and disappointment, muttering and grumbling at his luck.

Only to blink when he realizes he couldn't "mumble" or "grumble."

"Musubi-san. Ryu-san. Food is ready." Gently calls out Miya. This gains the duo's attention. One nodding slowly in acknowledgement and the other nodding fast in excitement. Ryu calmly walks toward the table while Musubi basically skips to it. Homura let out the second sigh this morning, but gently smiles at the two. "A bit on the edge there, don't you think?" Ryu waves off the worry and reassures him that he knew what he was doing, eliciting a chuckle from Minato and Homura.

Musubi though...

She is pretty much drooling at this point once she got a whiff of the food.

Yuuma walks in on the group and starts setting down the dishes. Once that was done, she sits down next to Ryu. Miya did the same except she sat across the mute.

"Go on and eat, everyone~."

 **"Ittadakimasu~!"**

That, by the way, is them speaking in unison. No demonic voices here.

Everyone begins feasting on the delicious food that rests on the table in front of them. The table right now is relatively quiet.

Until Uzume decides to speak up.

And scoot as close to Ryu as she can.

 _Too close,_ in fact.

Like, getting in between Musubi and Ryu close.

"So," began Uzume, "you're those kids that like to zip around places, huh?" Ryu nods to confirm it, making Uzume grin.

"Then... You have to be pretty fit, right?" Again, another nod from Ryu. Uzume places a hand on one of his thighs.

"How long have you been keeping that body of yours so... Desirable?"

Ryu took this into consideration and thought hard about that, completely mistaking what Uzume _really_ meant by "desirable". Meanwhile, Minato and Homura stare incredulously at Uzume's approach. Yuuma, in her case, is not the happiest of campers. Same for Miya. But the two just hid those emotions in a mask of calmness as they ate. Both had different reasons to be. Musubi just pouts at how she was pushed away from her Ashikabi.

'I guess it started since I was seven. I was just running around and jumping at the time. At thirteen, I already started my free-running and normal exercising routines. Around fifteen, I already began weightlifting and combat training.'

Miya's eyes widen at that last part.

"But doesn't that stunt your growth if you start lifting heavy things?"

'My body is... Very unique.' Ryu half-truth'd his answer to Miya.

"What makes it unique?"

Ryu's brain finally shut down at that.

 _'Uhh...'_

 ** _[You should have simply said you trained your body instead, partner.]_**

 _'Not helping, Ddraig!'_

 ** _[The truth does not always help.]_**

 _'...'_

Ryu could not find a retort to that.

'Probably because of my American blood.'

 _ **[Good strategy, partner. That will deeefinitely work.]**_

 _'Not helping!'_

 ** _[The truth do-]_**

 _'I got it! And that's not truth, that's sarcasm!'_

If one could see the inside of Ryu's mind, they would be seen Ryu glaring up at Ddraig with his arms crossed and Ddraig looking down at Ryu, smiling in amusement.

Fortunately, Uzume interrupted Miya's upcoming question by pressing herself against Ryu.

"I can tell you have been working out~."

Now the hand that was on is thigh, is now on his chest. She was rubbing her hand up and down his abdomen and chest, adoring how tough yet soft his muscles felt.

Okay, the "fortunate" turned to "unfortunate."

Then the "fortunate" happened again.

And it arrived in the form of Killing Intent that molded to a giant hannya mask.

 **"Uzume... I will have to _ask_ you to refrain in any sexual contact. Especially with our newest guest."**

"Gulp! Yes, ma'am!" Uzume obediently sat back down to her own seat.

Ryu intensely gazes at the mask in front of him, only for it to vanish.

 _ **[Try to ignore it, partner. It is not directed towards you.]**_ Reassured Ddraig.

 _'Yeah... You're right...'_ Ryu really could not find the reason why he kept feeling weird every time he is exposed to Killing Intent.

"It's about time I leave," Homura spoke as he stood up, "thank you for the food, Yuuma-san. You too, Miya-san. I have a small job to do." He notices Ryu tilting his head in wonder and chuckles. "I 'host' a club. I just entertain women. Also, do excuse Uzume for her behavior. She never went that extreme whenever teases." Saying his farewell afterwards and putting on a fancy tuxedo, he walks out through the front door, leaving Ryu even more confused and Uzume blushing in embarrassment.

 _'Ddraig, do you know what it means to 'host' a club? Does he mean a school club?'_

 _ **[No, nothing like that. It is a club where a host entertains one of the opposite or same gender by means of flirtation. These types of clubs, if not one made in school grounds, usually end in the host bedding the one they were tasked to entertain. Usually. Not always.]**_ This was not something he wished for his partner to know, but he figured he would tell him in advance in the off chance he stumbles upon a host club.

"Do you know what that means, Ryu-sama?" Yuuma had to repress her eyes from widening when Ryu nodded solemnly after eating his fill.

"I think I will go too. I need to find a job." Said Minato and he gets up next.

Ah yes, Minato became another resident of the Izumo Inn last night. By means of terms of agreement that he would find a job to pay his own rent.

It was at that night too that he learned something of Miya...

"My husband taught me to always help those in need."

It did not take Ryu long to figure the current whereabouts of her husband if he has yet to see him. During his small flashback, Minato already thanked the two chefs and bid everyone a fast goodbye as he left.

"Are we going back outside to 'freerun,' Ryu?"

Musubi's voice snaps him out of his little memory lane. Once he processed what she said, he nodded. This made his Sekirei smile and hug him tightly. Ryu smiles as well and hugs her back.

Uzume sat there, mouth hung open at the display of affection. Then, she turns to Miya in fumes.

"You allow _them_ to touch each other!?" Cries out Uzume.

"I do not see any signs of sexual contact." Calmly responds Miya. That smile Miya had the entire time only irritated her more.

Yuuma shook her head in amusement as she finishes eating. "Do you have room for another, Ryu-sama?" Asked Yuuma. Ryu ponders about the request and replies with, 'Only if you let me wash the dishes.' This got a frown and a single "Fine" out of Yuuma.

* * *

 _ **Location (Again): Shinto Teito, Rooftops.**_

* * *

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of all this running and jumping." Said Yuuma.

"See? I told you it would be easy!" Musubi said.

For the past week, Ryu has been showing Yuuma and Musubi how to freerun. Well, how to freerun as a normal human; without using any of their power and relying on what surrounds them instead.

Ryu, in his case, chooses to remain quiet and let his body run on instinct in order to speak with Ddraig.

 _'Hey, Ddraig. I noticed how well you've been taking all of this in. I mean, knowing the existence of aliens and all that.'_

His response is a mirthful chuckle.

 _ **[Where I come from, nothing can surprise you. We also knew about the existence of extraterrestrials long before too. It was even before when the first humans were created that dates back to the age before the meteor struck and "fused" with the planet we know as "Earth".]**_

This was a big eye-opener for the mute.

 _'I thought Adam and Eve were the first humans.'_

 ** _[They were the first "perfect humans". The prehistoric animals never died by the meteor, they died by their own hands; drew each other to extinction. God released what you humans refer to as a "meteor" like I said beforehand. It produced the life and luster that it contained back then.]_**

 _'Wha- what!?'_

Ryu could _not_ believe what he just heard.

It sounds like the origins of humanity from the Bible and science are becoming into one! This completely blew his mind away!

 _ **[I understand the confusion. I only need but a few more minutes for me to fully finish. God created the animals we know to this day, same for Adam and Eve. He attempted to create "harmony". It was working until the snake betrayed God by making the two humans eat the apple.]**_

 _'I wonder why that forbidden tree even existed...'_

 ** _[Many speculate it was to test them whether they would eat it, others believe it was a reward He would give them if they passed His test. There is no evidence of either one being true, so I do not go for one over the other.]_**

 _'The second one sounds more likely. So wait... If Adam and Even weren't influenced... Then...'_

 ** _[They would be exactly what you are imaging.]_**

 _'But they were influenced by one of the supernatural, so that means th-'_

"Ryu-sama!"

 _ **[Theories will be needing to be put on a halt. See what Amano is calling you for.]**_

After ending his little theory time with Ddraig, Ryu focuses back on Yuuma, who stopped completely, same for Musubi. Seeing this, he does the same.

"Look down there."

Ryu did as Yuuma instructed and looks down, using his high point of view work to his advantage.

 _'What!? That's Minato!'_

The three watch as Minato holds a petite, blonde child and running from another blonde in some nun-type outfit who happens to be wielding a scary-looking scythe in a small forest. Wasting no time at all, Ryu glanced at his Sekirei and motions her to combat the woman. Musubi, now seeing her Sekirei serious, becomes serious herself and hops off the roof, now directing her trajectory to land in between Minato and the scythe wielder.

"Should go there to help Minato?"

Ryu responded by jumping off the building's roof and using the wind and momentum to glide towards the forest. Yuuma sighed once Ryu hid out of human sight using the abundance of trees.

"I guess so..."

Yuuma followed suit of what Ryu did.

* * *

 ** _Inside the Forest..._**

* * *

"Come back here!"

"I'm not dumb! If I do that, you'll capture her!"

Minato kept running from the crazy girl while holding the toddler in his arms. Adrenaline and thoughts of panic rushing through his mind and body.

 _"How did it end up like this!?"_ Thought Minato as he dodged a few tree branches and roots.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: Around Half an Hour Ago..._**

* * *

Minato could be seen walking the streets aimlessly as he reads through every single job available to him.

 _"Sigh... Man. First, failing college entrance exams twice, now needing to look for a job to pay off rent. Can't get any worse than this."_

 _"Onii-chan..."_

Minato perked up as soon as he heard a female toddler's voice. Looking around, he sees that there is no toddler to begin with, only busy adults or bored teens.

 _"I could have sworn..."_

" _Onii-chan... Please... Help me..."_

Minato pinpointed the voice's general direction and follows it. This lead him to a miniature forest with the trees bunched up so close they blocked out the sun's rays and thus, making the environment dark and gloomy. He idly wonders how there was a forest in the middle of a large clearing and grouped up like they were protecting something.

"Ah, you'll do fine in my collection indeed."

Minato saw and heard a young teen ahead of him and instinctively hid himself behind a tree. The teen wore a white tuxedo that had golden lining to it. His hair was light brown and so was his eyes. Next to her, was a blonde too albeit more on the dirty blonde side. She wore a black and red dress that looked like something a nun would wear save for the colors and shorter skirt. The most intimidating was the scythe she wielded. The shaft was steel gray and the blade blood red. Simple, but still terrifying.

"I want my onii-chan..."

 _"There's that voice again. It's a lot clearer though."_

He did not need to look around that much to spot a girl that appears to be a toddler. Her eyes shine as colorful as the leaves in their healthiest and her blonde, back-length hair looked almost like a dandelion yellow.

"Don't worry, my dear. I can be your onii-chan."

The toddler walks backwards in fright of the boy in front of her. The teen sees the hesitation and snaps his fingers. The woman next to him received the unspoken order and approached the little girl, making her step back more.

"There's no need to be afraid, little one~." Cooed the woman, causing the child to whimper.

Minato had enough of it and stepped out of hiding.

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

This got everyone's attention.

"Oh? And what are _you_ going to do about it?" Asked the teen in a snarky tone.

 _"Think of something... Quick..."_

Misato received one of the most classical yet greatest ideas ever. Pointing behind them, he yells, "Wait! What's that!?"

Almost instantly, the two comically look to the direction he pointed at. During that moment, Minato grabbed the girl and bolted out of there as fast as his legs could take him. A second or two later, the blonde duo turn around and saw their target and stranger left. The teen growled at his own mistake and motions his female blonde counterpart to give chase which she gladly does so.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: End_**

* * *

Minato's eyes go half-lidded with a self-disappointed frown to go with that as he remembers why now.

 _"Right. I can't believe I actually forgot."_

He also remembers the girl he is carrying and looks down to see her eye-to-eye, expression back to normal and all.

"Hey, do you know why they're coming after you?"

Her response was a whimper and a shake of her head, gaining her a sigh from the running man.

"Great... Whoa!"

Minato forgot to look where he was going and ended up tripping on a small root that stuck out of the ground. Luckily, he remembers that he is carrying someone fragile and turns around so he would take the brunt of the fall.

"Onii-chan!" Cries out the toddler.

"Well, this made things a lot more boring. Here I was, being the nice one and letting you think you were escaping before getting the girl off of your hands." Spoke the scythe user in a dark tone of voice. Minato shook the small stinging on his back away and sees the woman approaching the two, cockily swaying her hips with each step made.

Until something impacts the ground in between the two and kicks up large amounts of dust, forcing the woman to leap away on instinct.

"Are you alright, Minato-san?"

Minato could not believe how familiar the voice sounded.

"M-Musubi-san?"

The dust particles settle down enough to show Musubi in a combative stance; fists raised up to strike and feet spread apart to dodge.

"Do not worry. I'll protect you."

Minato felt relief wash over him and his body accepts the exhaustion, now finding himself facing the trees' leaves.

The scythe user has already landed back on safe ground and examined what was in front of her.

"Who are you?" She asks.

"Sekirei number eighty-eight, Musubi. What is your name and number, Sekirei-san?" Answered and asked Musubi back.

"Number forty-three, Yomi," answers back the woman named Yomi. Yomi made an inclination towards the male laying on the ground to catch his breath. "Is he your Ashikabi?" Her answer is a shake of head and a, "no. My Ashikabi told me to defend him," and gets in a fighting position before politely asking, "may I please fight you?"

Yomi laughed haughtily at the request. "Sure, whatever. Let's see how long you can survive."

Before Minato's very eyes, the two females vanish in his eyes altogether. The only sign that told him they were still present is the belated sound of fist meeting metal, most likely created by Yomi using the shaft of her scythe to block the attacks of Musubi. If his hearing was any better and abnormal, he would be able to hear the sound of blade and fist cutting air.

Although he did hear the sound of footsteps coming to his direction.

"Minato!"

"Huh?"

Minato looks to the side and blinks when he sees Ryu and Yuuma running towards him. Very soon, the two stop in front of him, already being carried away by Ryu while Yuuma carried the girl, who seemed reluctant at first. The four settled behind a large tree to protect themselves from any stray attacks.

"Hhhaaaahhh!"

Letting out a cry of battle, Yomi slashes the air and creates an energy shockwave in the form of a slash. Musubi manages to dodge the wave attack, causing many trees behind her to be cut down or obliterated entirely.

Like those stray attacks.

"Wh-what are they!? What's going on here!?"

 _'Oh right... He doesn't know what a Sekirei is...'_

Ryu, just now, realized that Minato is not part of the Sekirei Plan nor has gathered any Sekirei to begin with in the first place.

 _'That might change though. If he's protecting that child because of why I think he's holding it, then he might be an Ashikabi. If that's true, he will become a part of whatever is going on here by the end of the day.'_

Ryu and Yuuma understood why the human is panicking. It's only natural. He _is_ witnessing "humans" doing "inhuman" feats like Yomi splitting trees without even touching them or Musubi punching craters on the ground or breaking trees apart in one single punch.

"This fight is not going anywhere, Ryu-sama. Musubi may have the reflex advantage, but her enemy keeps using that wave attack to maintain distance." Speaks Yuuma in an analytical tone. Ryu could not agree more and decides he needs to give a helping hand by exposing himself out in the open, waving his arms in the air to get his Sekirei's attention while doing so. Naturally, it did get her attention. Just when she was about to shout at him to find cover whilst dodging, she notices him take a boxing stance and throw a one-two punch. She got the hint and chose not to question her Ashikabi and takes the similar stance he does.

This was a famous technique known as "shadowboxing."

Yomi notices the change of stance in her opponent, but pays no mind to it and continues her assault.

Ryu leans left and delivers a right hook. Musubi mimics this and leaned left, dodging another wave attack, and approaches her foe with a powerful, right hook. The punch connects with Yomi's cheek and skids her back a few feet. Next, Ryu motions a right body shot and a left uppercut. Musubi closes the distance between her and Yomi and punches her stomach using her right fist and uppercuts her face entirely with a left uppercut as she haunches over from that last hit. The damage dealt on the uppercut proved to be effective as Yomi's nose already began to bleed.

Then Killing Intent flooded the entire forest. Courtesy of Yomi.

Yomi regained her footing and swung her scythe horizontally. To counter that, Ryu jumped and spun in midair with one leg sticking out before landing back on the ground. Musubi did not question it and jumped up in the air herself and roundhouse kicks Yomi in the jaw while her other leg was bent, making the swing miss any limbs it tried to disconnect.

Now comes the easy part.

Ryu pointed at the scythe and karate kicked the air. Musubi received the message her Ashikabi tried to tell her and kicks the scythe from Yomi's loosened grip. The weapon flew up in the air and impales the ground, a few meters where Musubi and Yomi stood. After that, Ryu straight punched the air. Musubi did the same and punches Yomi with great force directly at her chest. The power behind that punch launched her to a tree and hit her back against it.

 _'Endgame.'_

Ryu punches the air as fast as he humanely could and performs a spinning back kick for this last part. His Sekirei got the picture and charged right at her opponent and released a flurry of punches, each one feeling more painful than the last for Yomi that could be read through her face of anguish and pain and blood flowing from her mouth. Once Musubi felt she had enough, she takes a few steps back and back spin kicks her with so much force that Yomi broke through the tree she was cornered in and crashed into another one.

Ryu and Musubi lower their stances once they see that Yomi was out of commission for a while. Musubi immediately ran back to Ryu and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much for that, Ryu! Your guidance helped me a lot!" Gushed out the Sekirei. Ryu could only smile and hug her back. During their hug-fest, the others got out of their hiding, although wearily in Minato's case.

"Um... Could anyone please explain to me what just happened?"

Ryu and Musubi broke the hug when they hear Minato's question. Yuuma responds to this by motioning the girl she was holding.

"Onii-chan..."

Minato's question melted away as soon as he sees the child looking up to him with those large, green eyes of innocence. He kneels before her and pats her head gently.

"You're safe now. You should go back to your parents as soon as you can. Do you know where you live or your folks' phone number?"

"I don't have a family..."

"Huh?"

"She's a Sekirei, Minato." Bluntly states Yuuma. To enforce this, the little girl nods.

"What's a Sekirei? I keep hearing that same word." Asks Minato.

"Kiss her cheek and find out. Don't question it."

Minato looks straight into the blonde's eyes. They told him that she is okay with it.

 _"Why am I doing this?"_

Ignoring common sense and reason, he leans in and kisses her cheek.

The entire area is flooded in a green light as green wings of energy sprout out of her back. Minato backed up as soon as this happens.

Musubi made an "Oh" sound just as both light and wings die down.

"She is Sekirei number one-hundred-eight, Kusano." Musubi revealed.

 _ **[She controls plantation.]**_

 _'You felt it too?'_

 ** _[Yes. This entire forest is her creation. An amazing feat all on its own for someone who has yet to be winged and so young too. Potential lies strongly within her.]_**

"Hello? Hello! Is this phone on!?"

Everyone jumps in surprise when they heard the voice of a certain _mad scientist._ Minato takes out his phone and screams in surprise at the sight of some crazy doctor or scientist.

"Hi there! My name is Minaka Hiroto, founder of the MBI! And you-"

Ryu tunes out whatever Minaka said after that.

 _'Ddraig...'_

 ** _[I sense them too, partner. It's in this forest. Around the area eighty-eight and forty-three fought. Take Amano with you.]_**

 _'My thoughts exactly.'_

Ryu turns his attention to Yuuma who surprisingly stares right back at him with a knowing look. The two nod silently and start running back to the battlefield.

"Go on without us! We forgot something!" Yells Yuuma. The two didn't left much more for the others to reply as they were already gone by the time they turn to look.

After reaching up to a certain point, Ryu stops Yuuma and points up, signalling her to take it to the trees. The Fallen Angel nods and jumps on top of a branch, same thing for Ryu and tree-hops to their destination.

"Whew. That must have been a nasty battle."

The two stop right after they hear someone speak and spot two Youkai in the destroyed clearing where Musubi and Yomi battled. A detail they notice is Yomi's unconscious body and scythe no longer there. Instead, she laid in front of the two Youkai along with her now unconscious Ashikabi. Both were males and have brown hair and eyes, though one had a lighter shade than the other.

"Yeah, no shit. I don't sense any magic though. It's probably those Sekirei."

"Wait. So they were fighting each other?"

"Most likely."

Ryu and Yuuma continue their little spying to find out anything on the Youkai.

"Hang on there. I think you're missing my point. They're fighting each other. Dontcha think it means that all of them are fighting and destroying themselves?"

Ryu, Yuuma, and the other Youkai got what he was trying to hint.

"Hey... Yeah... There's reports from the others about it. So if we wait for them to end each other then..."

"We'll get our land back a lot easier. Maybe finish off the last of these Sekirei and kill the fucker and everyone else that dared take this city from us."

"So it's settled. We'll go tell this to the others."

"You go on ahead, I'm gunna dispose of this Sekirei and human first. It'll be the first death warning."

"Yeah sure, whatever."

 _'Not if we can help it.'_

Ryu signals Yuuma to take down the lighter brown tone of the two while he goes after the other one. Yuuma silently nod and leap to a different tree, purposefully making a "creak" sound.

"Who's that!?" One of the Youkai faced where the sound originated.

"Relax, man. Probably some bird or something. It _is_ really pretty here. Wouldn't mind setting home in a place like this." The other one spoke calmly.

"Yeah, you're rig-" The Youkai couldn't finish due to a glowing hand hitting his chest and heart and another hand hitting the back of his head followed by the sound of feet striding and sliding across the dirt and an elbow to the face. His partner heard all of these sound with something hitting the ground accompanying it and turned around in time to see another brunette had just knocked his friend out.

"WHAT THE FU-"

His voice died down as soon as two purple-pink spears of tainted light penetrated his chest and throat. The spears vanish and leave a gaping hole in his torso and neck and knelt to the ground in his own pool of blood. To finish it off, another spear of light was summoned, this time used to cut his head off. But she was cut off by Ryu grabbing her hand and preventing her from killing him.

 **[Good work. We do not need the enemy knowing any information.]**

"I'd hate to be them right now." Spoke Yuuma in an uncharacteristically cold tone.

'That still leaves the question whether I erase their memories or leave them here.' Wrote down Ryu for Yuuma to read since Ddraig can read his thoughts.

 **[It does not matter. In the end, their comrades will come here after sensing residue of magic and reach a conclusion that unknown factors or both of you have done this to them.]**

This was definitely something to considerate.

"Destroy the bodies. Like he said, they will still find out its us. I know how easy it is to spotted if you use a lot of magic energy." Reasoned Yuuma. Ryu nods and summons a bronze colored magic circle to appear above the bodies. It mostly contained Latin symbols and inscriptions with only a dragon head in the middle of it. The circle released some type of particles that hail down on the two. As they are now weaker to begin with and unconscious, the spell should work and erase their memories. After that, he kneels next to the one Yuuma nearly killed and attempts to jump start his healing process to prevent him from dying.

Ignoring that, Yuuma started walking towards him. Curious, Ryu faces black haired beauty and tilts his head. Yuuma, without warning, places her hands on his cheeks and plants a kiss on his lips. This surprises Ryu but it slowly fades away and responds to her kiss with one of his own as he places his hands on her hips. The two broke the lip contact eventually and stare into each other's eyes, smiling happily.

"That was for a job well done, even if you chose to not kill them, and because I wanted a kiss after hearing you and Musubi kissed."

Ryu scratches the back of his head in light nervousness.

'Sorry... I'll be sure to show more affection. I've been _way_ too busy being paranoid about things.'

"No, it's fine. I'm pretty sure your kiss with her was not something _both of you_ agreed on and we _are_ pretty busy trying to stop a big fight from happening."

Yuuma hugs Ryu as tight as she could.

"But it's nice to see you're considerate."

Ryu, of course, hugs her back.

"Anyways, let's go. I don't doubt the others at the inn will be surprised when they Kusano."

The two share a chuckle or two out of that and take off.

However, Yuuma didn't notice Ryu looking downwards enough for his hair to cover his eyes completely and his fingers touching his lips.

* * *

 ** _Chapter 4: End._**

* * *

 **AN: Okay, so _maybe_ I bullshitted you a _little bit_ about this chapter mainly about Ryu and Yuuma getting used to the place. Didn't want to spoil anything after all. I wonder how many people are going to be complaining about how descriptive and analytical I am or how slow the action is taking. I have these chapters in a bulk, so I won't know until they're all posted.**

 **But I know it will be entertaining... For me at least. :D**

 **One thing's for sure though: Things are starting to get tense. Already are the duo getting more and more involved in both sides of the upcoming conflict. How long until they're eventually discovered by Minaka or the Youkai?**

 **What crazy theory, conclusion, or discovery was Ryu about to make?**

 **Keep reading to find out. Because, really, that's the only way you'll know, right?**


	6. Flashbacks, More Skinship, and Pans

**AN: Hi! Cool beans that you're reading my AN for the sixth chapter. Hopefully, the big wait has been so far worth it to those that read my prototype, "Freedom." I do wonder how many comments I'm gonna have about how I have _sooo_ many inconsistencies, _soooo_ many grammar mistakes, _soooooo_ many flashbacks, or whatever.  
**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5: Begin**_

* * *

 _ **Day: Saturday. Time: Morning. Location: Izumo Inn, Ryu's Room.**_

* * *

Right now at this very moment, Ryu, Musubi, and Yuuma are sleeping soundly.

On the same futon.

In their pj's. Purple for Yuuma and pink for Musubi.

Except Ryu. He wore a gray tank top and boxers.

While one person, or dragon, remains awake. Chuckling to himself. Deep within the Boosted Gear.

 **[Mhmhmh... Ah, I remember the struggle partner and Amano went through to have eighty-eight wear apparel during her times of slumber.]** Reminiscences the red dragon.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: A Week Ago at Tuesday..._**

* * *

Like in present time, the trio were sleeping peacefully in the same futon. Yuuma to the left, Musubi to the right, and Ryu in the middle.

But there was one, single problem with the picture...

Well, two problems. One, it's actually near eight'o'clock.

"Ryu-kun, Yuuma-san, Musubi-san. Are you all awake? Breakfast is ready," says Miya. She stood right outside their door, waiting for a response. After a moment of silence, she begins to wonder if they have overslept.

 _"Perhaps they are not used to this city yet. Yuuma-san told that Musubi-san has been showing them around. By going around rooftops too. It must be really taxing for them."_

Smiling, Miya decides to wake the three up herself. Grabbing the door by its handle, she slides the door open.

"It's time to wake up. Breakfast is read-" Her words die down in her throat as she looks at the three sleeping.

She has seen the other problem in the picture.

And begins releasing heavily saturated Killing Intent.

Her smile remains. The emotion behind that smile changed though.

This woke up the battle-hardened Ryu and Yuuma. Both sit up and turn to Miya, who is the one radiating Intent.

 **"Would the two of you be so kind as to tell me why Musubi is sleeping with no clothing?"** Asks Miya in a sickly sweet tone.

"What do you mean by that, Miya-san? Musubi isn-" It was Yuuma's turn to have her voice lost in her throat. The two looked back and saw Musubi snuggling Ryu's torso in her birthday suit. Yuuma and Ryu swiftly turn around and saw Miya holding a frying pan.

"W-wait, Miya-san. I can explain why Musubi is-" She was cut off by groaning and shuffling next to Ryu.

"Mmm... What's going on...? I was having a nice sleep with Ryu..." Musubi sat up and rubbed her eyes to wake herself up.

Musubi _had_ to wake up and say those things right then and there. Grreeeaat timing.

An hannya mask then appears next to Miya, glaring deeply at three. Musubi's bubbly defenses were finally pierced as her face turned one to fear and began to shake uncontrollably.

The others remained unperturbed. They were used to Killing Intent after all.

 **"Could you please explain to me why you broke one of my rules and slept nude, Musubi-san?"**

Musubi had the gall to tilt her head in confusion and frightfully ask, "What does 'nude' mean?"

At that moment, the sound of metal hitting three skulls rebounded throughout the entire inn.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: End._**

* * *

 **[Hahaha! It was a moment of hilarity! How partner took the hit without any flinching is the best part to me. I also remember when Sahashi brought back one-oh-eight. Though it was not a moment of actual comedy...]** Ddraig's attitude made a drastic turn to a serious one when he remembers Minato bringing back Kusano and the secret of Ryu and Minato being Ashikabis came out.

* * *

 ** _Flashback: Two Days Ago..._**

* * *

"We're home!" Came the anxious voice of Minato. The entire group walk inside and begin removing their shoes. Uzume peeks from a corner and Miya walked out of the kitchen to greet the four.

Only to see there's a fifth.

"My, Minato, who's that?" Asks Miya although she knew who it was.

"U-uhh... Well... This is-..."

"Miya, it's no use at this point. The guy can't make an excuse about it."

Minato blinks at the uncharacteristically serious voice of Uzume that interrupted his about-to-be-made excuse. What's more surprising was Miya sighing and nodding to Uzume's statement, who now stood next to the landlady. Ryu's expression stayed impassive and Yuuma's went directly to serious. Musubi remained her usual joyful self.

"Yes, you're right." Miya cleared her throat and stares straight into the eyes of Ryu and Minato.

"We have been aware that Ryu-kun is an Ashikabi and just found out by looking at Kusano standing so close to you that you are an Ashikabi too, Minato-kun. Homura happens to also be aware of Ryu's status."

"So you two knew about this 'Plan'?" Wonders Yuuma. The nods were the only thing she needed to confirm this.

"We're not too fond of it either..." Says Uzume in a venomous tone.

"Makes sense. Otherwise, you would be trying to find Ashikabis as Sekireis or back in headquarters as scientists." Concluded Yuuma, purposefully avoiding the big question whether they were Sekireis or humans to show respect and prevent any provocations.  


 _ **[Ah... Now it all makes sense for Homura to attend these "host clubs". He is attempting to find his Ashikabi.]**_

Ryu nodded at this little revelation of detail.

"But are you a Sekirei yourself, Yuuma?" Forcefully asks Uzume, getting Yuuma to shake her head.

"No, I'm his girlfriend. Or... One of his girlfriends. He has Musubi over here."

Ryu's fingers twitched at this. Though no one noticed.

That got an incredulous look out of Uzume and Minato.

"Well you don't need to worry, everyone, I will still allow you to stay so long as you can pay the rent." Reassured Miya. This got her smiles from everyone.

* * *

 _ **Flashback: End.**_

* * *

 **[A wise choice on Amano's part for not questioning or mentioning they were Sekireis or else...]** Mutters Ddraig. Ryu and himself have not told the black-nette about everyone living in the inn being Sekirei. Minus Minato. But that was obvious. His worries only continue to escalate the more he thought about the latest events. **[Things are becoming severe as well... It appears this land was part of Youkai territory and the MBI took over the city. I do hope partner will make a decision soon. Danger is over the horizon.]** The sound of shuffling brought his mumbling to a close.

 _'Uhh... Morning, Ddraig...'_ Ryu gently sat up as to not wake up the others and rub the sleep out of his eyes.

 _ **[Good morning, partner. Did you sleep well?]**_

 _'Yeah... Been thinking about stuff lately...'_ Ryu quietly stood up and takes a spare change of clothes and a towel before leaving their room, completely unaware of Yuuma already sitting up and watch him leave.

* * *

 ** _Shower Room..._**

* * *

 _ **[I have noticed how unfocused you have been as of late. Would you care to share your thoughts?]**_

Just as Ddraig asks this, Ryu already entered the shower room and started to slip out of his sleepwear.

 _'It's about the MBI and the Youkai. I can already see a fight about to break between the two and I feel bad for the innocent bystanders that will stand in the middle of all of this.'_ While Ryu thought back to Ddraig, he already wrapped the towel around his waist and turned on the water.

 ** _[A very solid point. We must think of an alternative quickly.]_**

 _'Assassination won't work on either sides. Minaka and whoever leads the Youkai will most likely get replaced and we don't know their full story.'_

 ** _[That is a gamble to try and find personal information such as that, partner. I highly doubt both of them will open up and speak out their pasts.]_**

 _'I know, I know. But I can't just go and start killing without having a good reason to. The two Youkai were planning on killing people themselves and giving something so important like the Sekirei Plan is pretty much an instant win. I would let the Youkai know about the Sekirei taking each other out if I knew there wouldn't be bloodshed in the end.'_ By now, Ryu began to wash his hair with shampoo and conditioner.

 ** _[My mind has drifted on this topic as well. Hmm... I will let you cleanse yourself, partner. In the meantime, I will be organizing our next plan of action.]_**

 _'Right. Thanks, Ddraig.'_ Ryu let out a sigh once he feels Ddraig receding back into the depths of the Boosted Gear. Already did he finish up washing the suds and soap out of his hair and was about to start washing his body.

"Ryu-sama."

Ryu turned around to face where that all-too-familiar voice and blushed at what he saw.

Yuuma wearing only a towel that covered her torso and some of her thighs, enough to cover her modesty.

"I'd like to talk to you about something. About all that has been happening."

That blush went away like it was just punched out of his cheeks.

Nodding, Ryu motions Yuuma to sit next to him as he begins washing his arms and chest.

"Thank you," thanked Yuuma whilst slowly sitting down. She too began washing her hair.

"You know we can't stay here any longer... Don't you?"

Ryu stopped his showering process.

"We have to strike now, Ryu-sama. The time will come when it will be too late for you to save someone if you keep waiting for an enemy to make it obvious to you that they are our enemies."

The pause continued.

"You and I should know this. I'm a perfect example after all."

That broke his immobility and turned his head to look at a frowning Yuuma.

"I'm glad you went through all that trouble in the end and left me to live back when I tried to kill you and Asia, but... Asia still went through that horrendous process because of me. Same could be said to you." Her eyes drifted down as she continued. Ryu, himself, was going through a series of flashbacks about that time.

"Don't blame me, blame God for giving you that Sacred Gear."

The image of Yuuma in her true and more mature form, Raynare, holding her spear of light flashes in his mind.

"How can a simple human beat me!? It's impossible!"

Another image of Raynare flash in his mind. This time, her outfit, that was tattered at the time, could be considered an even more intense BDSM outfit than the lightning twins. Her black, feathery wings dropping lone feathers from taking too much damage. Rage and disbelief clear in her eyes as she lunges for Ryu.

"Thank you for being my friend, Ryu-san."

Now it was an image of Asia looking up to him and thanking him in a park back at Kuoh City.

"I'm sorry I put you through this, Ryu..."

Another image of Asia, now in a simple robe and chained to a cross, smiled at Ryu with tears drowning her vision.

Ryu shook his head to rid himself of those images and turns to face Yuuma again. Using the suds on the floor that the water couldn't reach, he began to write his thoughts about the subject.

'Maybe we can persuade them.'

"Heh... Heheh. If it only was that simple, Ryu-sama... Someone like you should not be placed into these situations, yet here you are..."

Ryu frowned at the sadness coming out of Yuuma's mouth.

"You'll soon ge-"

The sound of the door sliding open broke what Yuuma had to say.

"Hellloooo~."

Yuuma flinched when she heard that concerning tone of voice while Ryu turned around and blushed like he did when he saw Yuuma.

Only this time, the person isn't wearing a towel. Nothing. At. All.

That person is a female too.

That female, is Uzume.

Surprise, surprise.

"Hey there, hot stuff. Need your back scrubbed~?" She asks with a teasing wink of an eye.

"Sigh... What are you doing here, Uzume?" Yuuma irritatingly asked.

"Wwhhaatt? Can't I come here to get my body nice and squeaky clean?" Innocently answered Uzume.

She oh so innocently said as she snuggled against Ryu's back, her large breasts pressing against his neck. His blush made it obvious what he was feeling or more like confused about what he was feeling. So innocent indeed.

"Right..." Mutters Yuuma.

"You are really muscular, Ryu-kun~."

Ryu had no idea how to react to what Uzume was doing right now as she continued to touch his broad back, chiseled torso, and pumped arms in an attempt to get a good grasp on Ryu's masculinity. A tic mark appeared on Yuuma's head as all of this was going on. Her patience only kept getting thinner and thinner until Uzume's hands trail down to his waist.

"Alright, that's enough!" Yuuma screams out and stuffs Ryu's head in her bountiful bosom.

Hey, she got him out of Uzume's grasp at the very least.

 **"What are you three doing...?"**

Then came in that familiar Killing Intent, purple miasma atmosphere, and voice. Uzume shrieked in fear while Yuuma groaned.

 _"You have GOT to be joking me..."_

Insert the comical sound of a frying pan hitting skulls.

 _ **[Hmm... Frying pans must be a new trend.]**_ Murmurs Ddraig in his head.

* * *

 ** _Dinner Table..._**

* * *

Everyone were already sitting down at the table and eating their breakfast. The only out-of-place thing is a bump on Uzume's head that has yet to heal from a certain cooking tool impacting her head.

"How are you two fine after getting hit like that?"

Ironically, no pun intended, Ryu and Yuuma did not flinch when their heads were hit. Nor did it leave a bump like Uzume.

"We've had worse."

That was her only response. It seemed more like a cryptic message than anything else. Ryu nodding only made it worse. Miya would have offered to hit them again, harder than last time, if she didn't detect that underlining message behind the deceptively plain answer. Homura looked at the two with eyes that show caution and weariness. Minato and Kusano could only wonder what happened upstairs.

 _"Could they be involved with whatever is going on?"_

Ryu sensed the gaze, thoughts, and aura from Homura and matched the male Sekirei with his own. It was very brief, but a message was sent and understood between the two. The only thing to worry about is if one of them misunderstood the message.

"Ah! That was great! Thank you, Miya-san! Yuuma-san!"

"You're very welcome, Musubi-san."/"You're welcome, Musubi."

Ryu's eyes flash for an instant, signifying he remembered or figured something out by now. He lightly taps Musubi's shoulder to gain her attention, which he did.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Ryu?"

Before he could tell her what was on his mind, the sound of knocking broke the quiet and tense atmosphere.

"Yo, Miya! You there!?"

Miya's eyebrow twitched when she heard that deep and masculine voice. Homura chuckled at her expense, same for Uzume. Miya stood from her pillow-seat in a very slow fashion and inhaled deeply.

"I shall get it."

The latest guests tilted their heads in a unified fashion, including the question marks popping into existence. They look towards the door that Miya just opened and see a tall and lean-built man. His wear is pretty simple; a white undershirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. The guy carried this "wild and gruff" vice about himself. Said man smiles and curtly waves at Miya.

"How's it going?"

A heavy and weary sigh escaped Miya's lips, but she still smiles.

"I'm doing fine, Seo. Please, come in. I only ask of you to be considerate of your actions. I have more guests living here."

"Surprised to know you got more people. How have they managed to stay here for even a day?" The man uncovered to be Seo chuckles at his little joke.

Too bad Miya didn't find as humorous. Her leakage in Intent made it obvious.

 **"What did I just say, Seo-san...?"**

The chuckling whittles down and he held a hand of reassurance.

"Relax, relax. I know. Take a joke, woman."

The leaking stopped, but her eyes were still glaring at him. He held another hand as if to say he's innocent.

"Alright, alright. Hikari. Hibiki. Come on in."

Yuuma and Ryu stood from their pillow-seats in a defensive manner when they saw an addition of two more people entering. Even if now wore maid outfits, one red and another blue, the two still remember what they look like. The sisters must have thought along those same lines because they rebounded a bit themselves at the sight of Ryu, Yuuma, and Musubi. Homura slid a hand under the table and lights it on fire in case things went awry. Seo scratches his head when awkwardness intensified in the atmosphere.

"Don't worry, kids. They're not going to attack you. Right, you two?"

Hikari and Hibiki lower their stances and give their respective "Yeah" and "That's right". Ryu lowers his left arm, Yuuma lowers both of her arms, and Homura ceases his pyrokinesis. Musubi just waves at the two.

"It's been a while! Look! I have an Ashikabi now!"

"We know. Figured you were going to 'wing' him if we didn't get you," huffs Hikari. The rude tone rewarded her with a slap on the head by her twin to which she pouts at.

Seo ever-so-discreetly leans toward Miya.

"I can tell the guys are part of the Plan. I can smell it on them. What about the other one though? The black haired one."

"She is Ryu's lover."

Seo leans back in surprise and turns to the mute.

"Hot damn, kid! You still managed to keep your girlfriend and have a Sekirei? Woowee! She's a keeper!" Now it was his turn to get his head smacked. By Miya, no less. "Ow! I'm just saying! A girl and I had a thing before getting these two and she didn't like it when I told her!"

Yuuma smiles and latches himself on Ryu's arm.

"He's saved my life and gave me a new one. I'll stick with him through whatever hardships we'll get ahead."

Musubi stood up and grabbed his other arm.

"That's exactly what he did for me! By our love and contract, I'll protect him!"

Miya and Homura could not help but smile at the tender moment. Minato and Kusano did the same as the two girls and guy shortly after, though on a less intimate level. Uzume stared up at Ryu and blinks in curiosity and in thought. Seo nodded with a look that gave respect at that whereas the twins sigh at the added competition.

"Hikari and Hibiki told me you got chased by those weird people while that Sekirei over there was in her 'reaction' moment thing. Seeing you escape means you live and she's now your Sekirei. Not bad, man. Not bad at all."

Then, his expression turned serious.

"I'm here to talk about the Sekirei Plan and what I uncovered about it. Since all of you know about it, I don't have to worry a thing."

This got everyone's full attention except Hikari and Hibiki for they already knew beforehand.

"As you have noticed, it has been postponing itself a lot. It should have started nearly two weeks ago already, but these new threats keep getting in the way. Sekirei are either left defeated when they are attacked by these people or flee in terror. And even when they win, they still have some serious injuries. The Ashikabis are not safe either. Fortunately, no body counts have been made. They keep being sent to the hospital though and I can already guess Sekirei and Ashikabi are going into hiding instead of doing something like my Sekirei have been doing; taking out unwinged Sekirei."

Hibiki stepped up to explain the rest in her point of view.

"We used to do this to take out the competition. However, Hikari and I have been attacked by these guys and even if we've won since it's the two of us working together, we still get injured. Sometimes it becomes too much for us because of numbers and planned ambushes too. They also don't feel like Sekirei or human for the matter. Minaka or his partner, Takami, have continued to put off the Plan until all of the Sekirei or almost all manage to get winged."

Ryu and Yuuma frown at the news. The only good news about this was the lack of any casualties.

"That's what we have so far," stated Seo.

Ryu thought it was a good time to get Musubi to tell her what he needed to say, so he took her with him upstairs, Yuuma already having let go of his arm. He and Musubi bow to everyone and excuse themselves from the table and head upstairs.

"What's up with those two?" Bluntly asked Hikari.

"It's something serious. That's all I can say," explained Yuuma.

Homura's eyes follow the leaving duo until they are no longer seen.

 _"Hmm..."_

* * *

 ** _Ryu's Room..._**

* * *

Ryu leads Musubi back inside their room and shuts the door behind them. Musubi tilts her head in obvious confusion.

"What's wrong, Ryu?"

His bangs overshadow his eyes as he lets out a small sigh. Taking out his notepad and pencil, he began to write.

'I'm leaving for a while, Musubi.'

Musubi blinked.

"Eh?"

'I'm going out and explore the city to find clue about what is going on.'

It finally dawned unto Musubi on what he meant. She smiles and fist pumps the air.

"Okay, I'll go with you then."

'That's the thing. You're not coming along.'

"Huh?"

Musubi lowered her arm and read that a few more times to finally register what he wrote.

"But... Why?"

Ryu's flinched under the sad undertone. It hurts him so much to cause sadness to anyone in general.

'It'll be too dangerous for the both of us. I'm planning on taking Yuuma with me too. Both of us want to see what's going on. The Sekirei Plan. The anonymous attacks. All of it. You coming with us will make all of us a target. They would not think twice to go after a human like Yuuma and I.'

"I can still protect you though!"

Tears pour down Musubi's cheeks the more this conversation went on. The thought of Ryu going out where it is dangerous hits her where it emotionally hurts.

'Are you sure?'

Musubi was about to answer until she sees what else Ryu wrote.

'Please, trust in your Ashikabi. Humans are not as weak as you think we are.'

Musubi went back to how Ryu helped her in the fight against Yomi.

"Y-you're right... Sniff..."

Ryu put down his notepad and pencil to wipe her tears and hug her.

"A bond with Ashikabi and Sekirei are about trust..."

His body instinctively tensed up when he heard that. Musubi took that as him hugging her tighter and held her dear one close to her as tightly as she could.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Ryu..."

Musubi stood on the tip of her toes and kisses Ryu on the lips. The male brunette froze at this and stayed like that for a bit... But, with reluctance that she did not notice, he pressed his lips against hers, eyes being shadowed again. As soon as their lips made contact, her wings sprouted out of her back like the first time they kissed. Eventually, they pulled back and stared at each other's eyes, Ryu's hair no longer obscuring them.

"I am really glad to be your Sekirei..."

The two continue to stare deeply into one another and she leaned forward for another kiss...

Until someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, Ryu. Can I talk to you about something? It's pretty important."

 _'Homura? It_ sounds _really important.'_

Ryu looks at Musubi who nods in understanding.

"Just please promise me you will be safe..."

Ryu smiles widely and nods. Musubi smiles back and opens the door. Not seeing anyone outside the door, she peeks out and sees Homura leaning against the wall, right next to the door.

"You can go ahead, Homura-san." Said Musubi in her usual cheerfulness.

"Thanks, Musubi-san." Musubi left the room while Homura entered and shut the door behind him.

"So..." Homura began.

'Hmm?' Wrote Ryu.

"What are you _really_ here for, Ryu?"

Ryu figured he should tell Homura _some_ information to keep off his bad side. Not that the two wanted to fight for starters.

'I'm here because of the attacks.'

"So you know about them?"

'I know this city's population is not safe.'

"You sound like a secret agent. Trust me when I tell you that all humans tried to stop Minaka have failed. If whatever the Hell these things are can combat a Sekirei, I doubt you could even touch them." Homura leans against a wall as he says this.

'I'm not from the government nor anything related to it. The only thing I want to do is resolve this peacefully. I also want to stop the Sekirei Plan after finding out about it.' Ryu's posture did not change as he continues to write.

"Then what are you supposed to be exactly?"

It took a moment for Ryu to carefully answer that question.

'I can't say for now. But I know you will know eventually. I can't keep it up forever.'

Homura smiles at his honesty and acceptance that he could not bottle it all up.

"True. I mean... I _did_ see you back when you were prancing about while carrying Musubi."

Homura chuckles at the shocked reaction he got out of that.

"What? You think that clanking sound was because of the wind? People weren't around you or anywhere near you for blocks."

 _'I know. He placed a spell to make people leave that area. Good to see Sekirei are resistant to magic spells like everyone else in the supernatural.'_ Ryu thought to himself. Saving that important bit of info, Ryu decided to ask, 'How were you catching up to us?'

"I'm a Sekirei too. Same goes for Miya. She told me it was fine to tell you. Except I have a job in the Plan and that is to protect unwinged Sekirei. I was waiting for an opening to attack him as soon as you two got some distance. I have to say, you prove us Sekirei wrong that humans are definitely not weak. Amazing skills that you pulled off right then and there." Homura and Ryu share a fist pump at that.

"Say, you're leaving to get some clues about what's going on, huh? Don't answer that, I know. Musubi's crying gave it away." Homura sighed. He couldn't disagree with Ryu's plan either. It was a darn good plan. "Poor girl... No Sekirei wants to be taken away by their 'true' Ashikabi. When I mean by 'true', I mean in the 'Sekirei reacting to the Ashikabi' way. Not the 'Ashikabi force-winging Sekirei' way." Homura crosses his arms and sighed at the end. He has seen Sekirei being forced to be winged. To this day, it is still unpleasant to his eyes.

'Yes, I'm taking Yuuma with me. Two heads are better than one.'

"Very true, very true. Your strategy is pretty sound actually. As long as you can hold your breath, keep your heartbeat low, and stay in the shadows, then you'll be fine."

Inwardly, Ryu was shaking his head.

 _'If it was only that simple...'_

Homura figured it was about to time to leave Ryu alone and leaned forward to get his back off of the wall.

"I guess I'll be going. I got things to do, places to go, people to see, all that jazz."

Ryu nods in understanding. Homura gives him a pat on the shoulder as he walks. Before fully walking out though, he turns around and looks at him one last time.

"Stay alive, Ryu. Not for Musubi, but for yourself and everyone else too. Later." And then Homura shuts the door on his way out.

 _ **[I'm curious if "Hannya Woman" is aware of you and Amano as well.]**_ Ddraig suddenly says, referring to Miya.

 _'Maybe... We're leaving right now, Ddraig. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get started.'_ Calmly replied Ryu, not bothered by Ddraig's out-of-nowhere popup.

 _ **[Do wear conspicuous clothing.]**_

 _'Don't worry. I will as soon as we leave.'_

* * *

 ** _Living Room..._**

* * *

Ryu descends down from the stairs with Yuuma already waiting near the front door.

"Right now?"

His nod is the only thing Yuuma needed.

"Yo, where you guys going? I figured I could teach you about beer pong. You look like you're in the legal age."

Seo got himself a rock to the face effective immediately, garnering sighs out of his Sekirei.

 **"What did I tell you about being respectful, Seo-san? They are eighteen years old. Not twenty."**

Aaaand there's that sickly sweet tone of voice of Miya that everyone adores oh-so much.

Ryu was just about to pull out his ID to show him that he was exactly in the legal range and explain Yuuma was too, only to have Miya gently lower his hand and prevent the mute from doing so.

"Does that rock have blood stains on it?" Wonders Minato out loud.

Uzume popped up out of nowhere next to Minato.

"Yep, it indeed has blood. All of it is Seo's blood."

The mentioned man fell to the ground under the throw's force and heavy rock. By then, Minato covered his Sekirei's eyes to keep her from seeing blood, earning him adorable arm flails out of Kusano.

"Where ya guys going?" Asks Uzume in a cute tone.

"We're going to go explore the city some more." Half-truth'd Yuuma.

Miya disengages her "Hannya Mode" and looks at the departing duo.

"Ryu-kun, I'll be sure to start training Musubi."

Everyone turns to her in shock. _Everyone._ Even Homura, who was just about to leave.

"I have thought about it and have chosen to teach Musubi how to defend herself from weapon-type Sekirei and her capabilities in general."

Musubi had stars in her eyes at the word "training" and her name being mentioned in the same sentence. Ryu shares similar happiness for Musubi and wrote a 'Thank you' to Miya.

"We should get going. It's close to eleven. Don't want to use up sunlight." Said Yuuma. Miya nods slowly. The leaving trio wave their goodbyes before walking out of the door. No one noticed Uzume frowning deeply.

* * *

 ** _Chapter 5: End_**

* * *

 **AN: Boom! Done! Tension freaking rising! Now, before any hate is given about going slow, let me just say this: Each volume is going to have quite the number of chapters. Quite the number indeed. So I have the space to throw in tension and character development/character interaction in. Not over a 100 chapters though. Holy shiznit, no! Give it time, things will start adding up. Anyways, go to the next chapter.**


	7. From Hero, to Prankster, then Hero Again

**AN: Phew! Seventh! Alright, this is where things _really_ start to escalate if they weren't already. I give you all... Chapter 6-slash-7 if you include the prologue. Bon appetit for your imagination, I guess.**

 **Okay, that was weird to say.**

 **Just go read.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6: Begin**_

* * *

 ** _Time: Afternoon. Location: In a Random Alleyway._**

* * *

Ryu and Yuuma summoned their respective magic circles with Yuuma's being pinkish purple and a black feather in the middle. The circles pass their bodies and now wore new clothing.

For Ryu, he now wore a brown shirt, a brown, leather jacket with a hood over the shirt, marine blue jeans, brown gloves, and white tennis shoes.

For Yuuma, she wore a pinkish purple shirt, blue short-jeans, and black shoes.

The two check out their own choices of wardrobe. So far, neither found an issue.

"Does this look fine, Ryu-sama?"

'Yeah. This should be good. The only issue is no way to cover your face.'

Yuuma waves off his worry, confidence written all over her face.

"It's fine, no need to worry! I can just use a spell to change my hair and eye color and all is hunky-dory! Well, not that it matters since I can just erase memories."

Ryu nodded at her choice of substitution.

'Let's go over the plan.'

"Right. Okay, so you and I are going to go around the city to find any Youkai or Sekirei and see if we can't find any information on either side. If we see a fight going on, we immediately move in to break it up. Is that correct?"

'Not entirely. We also need to be wary of our surroundings to prevent environmental damage. Otherwise, there will be civilian casualties. Last thing is to _not_ kill our opponents. Knock them out instead.'

Yuuma's eyes softened at the last part.

"Ryu-sama-... Sigh... Alright. No deaths."

Ryu wonders what she was about to say, but shrugs it off.

"Anyways, we need to try to keep our identities a secret, right?"

'Yes. That's a big factor too. If we don't, they'll have an easier time coming after us and will open ourselves to sneak attacks when we least expect it.'

"Okay. I think that's everything. We'll go our own ways and we will see each other again to share what we learned three days from now."

Ryu nods to this idea and puts his hood on, effectively covering his face to the point only his mouth and the tip of his nose can be seen.

"Oh. And Ryu."

The now hooded mute made a slight bob of his head in a way to ask, "What's up?"

"Be careful."

He smiles confidently at her, getting him a smile from her in return. Then, the two face the opposite directions and run off their separate ways.

* * *

 ** _Location: Park._**

* * *

A lone woman sat on a bench that resides in one of the many park around Shinto Teito. Her shoulder length hair and eye color both a light brown, almost giving it a golden tinge. The eyes look downcast in what seemed like despair and hopelessness, uncaring at the looks she received by the passing by civilians for her attire that is a white robe reaching down to her calves with chains decorating it, such as the chest region that revealed most of her cleavage, but the rest is restricted by chains connecting from one side of the robe, to the next. There is also a chain wrapped around her neck and went down in between her exposed breasts.

This certainly got "attention" from a lot of males and even certain females got a little frustrated.

One small detail they usually miss is a red tattoo on her forehead. It resembled a bird flapping its wings, two magatamas on each side of it, and a yin-yang symbol right below the bird.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed with surprise and retrieved its former luster for a split moment. Looking up to see what she sensed that caused this, she spots someone running across rooftops with inhuman speeds only a Sekirei can do. Because of the unknown's hood, she could not give details, but the body's build prove to be that of a man's.

 _"Could that be-...?"_ To satiate her curiosity and impulsiveness, she gets up and dashes off to catch up with this man using speed bystanders could not follow, not even to catch a blur. She jumps on top of a building and looks in the general direction he went.

But found him to be already gone.

 _"It should not be possible for me... Can it?"_ Her thoughts were flooded with questions about similar things, ignoring completely at how fast or stealthy this stranger was. For her, it did not matter who he was or what he accomplished just now, just that she was meant to be his if her feelings were leading her on the right path.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, with the "Stranger"..._**

* * *

 _ **[She is no longer following us, partner.]**_ Informs Ddraig

 _'Phew... She is pretty fast.'_ Mentally exhaled Ryu.

Not even half-an-hour in, and Ryu thought he was already caught by someone. By what Ddraig said, her capabilities were to be around Homura and Miya.

 _'How did I already get someone that strong on my back? In less than thirty minutes, no less?'_ Asks the mute.

 ** _[Perhaps she sensed you were not a fellow Sekirei. I'm sure their race has an ability to detect fellow kin. It's a basic ability every race has.]_** The red dragon theorized.

Ryu's eyes narrow under his hood.

 _'If that's true, then things are really getting bad. Sekirei are now getting paranoid and ready to attack what's not of theirs. To them, that's a good thing to do. To Yuuma and I, that's bad.'_

 _ **[Are you sure we cannot change this plan, partner?]**_

 _'You made it though!'_ Retorts Ryu.

Ddraig said nothing to that.

 _'See?'_

 ** _[You will soon find out why this is not a good strategy, partner. However, I will stand by whatever decision you shall make.]_**

 _'Well thanks, Ddra-'_ Ryu was about to thank his trusty dragon partner, until he was unceremoniously interrupted.

 ** _[Not that I have much choice in the matter.]_**

 _'Wwwooooowwww!'_

The two share a mental laugh. The laughing stopped for Ryu as soon as his eyes landed on something familiar. Or specifically, someone.

 _'Hey... It's Aiko!'_

Ryu spots Aiko walking around in casual clothing instead of her kimono, most likely on an errand.

 _ **[Before you make a leap, hide somewhere and change to something else.]**_

 _'Oh... Heheh. Right.'_ Ryu thought back as he jumps into another alleyway. In the same instant Ryu hopped in an alley, he summoned a magic circle beneath him, and changed his clothes to ones he usually wears during his freerun sessions as he passed through it on his way down.

 _ **[**_ **Now _you can go.]_**

 _'Yup, yup! Thanks for reminding me!'_ Ryu lightly jogs out of the alley and to Aiko's current location. Taking note how she is busy looking around, Ryu decides to make a small prank.

How could someone know he was plotting one? Because of his devilish smile he is right now showing.

* * *

 ** _With Yuuma..._**

* * *

"Hmm... Nothing so far."

Yuuma is currently flying over buildings while having herself magically cloaked, looking to find any fights going on or someone she could use for information. Seeing nothing going on, she descends on a roof and retracts her black, feathery wings back inside her and deactivates the spell. After doing all of these steps, she walks to a ledge and sets her down on the edge of it, taking in the Sun's radiance and wind's cool breezes as it blows her hair back. These two elements only made her black hair shine even brighter and gave her more grace and beauty to her image.

"Are you one of them?"

Yuuma demonstrated no shock or surprise when she heard the question, specifically, the voice itself, and shook her head.

"What led you here?" She calmly asks.

"I sensed a presence backed up with quite a bit of power too large for a human. And humans have none." The voice responds.

"I see... You know, you can sit next to me. I won't bite." She playfully suggested.

The voice created sounds akin to footsteps and sat on the ledge with her. From her peripheral, she sees it was a male in completely dark clothing and a mask that only left the upper part of his face uncovered. It was pretty much a dead giveaway to Yuuma who it was judging by that recognizable unruly mop of silver hair. At least he changed his voice a bit to be a little bit more conspicuous. In her case, she had a spell that gives her a different appearance and voice during her landing, so she was safe.

"I know I offered, but you are awfully trusting." Spoke out Yuuma.

"Unlike my foes, you did not ooze the intent to kill in your aura when I revealed myself. They don't know how to contain it for that matter. Or just choose not to." Explained the mysterious figure. She lightly giggled at that.

"No wonder. You wouldn't have come out and asked me if I was 'one of them'. Don't worry, I know what you are talking about."

She did not miss the shift of movement going on in his mask, most likely frowning.

"I see. Why are you here anyways?" He asks.

"Wanted to see the sights. Why are you out here wearing those clothes like a type of ninja?" She rebukes.

"Hahahah... Got me there. I'm trying to make sure there are no fights going on. It's pretty hard because it's just me," he answers.

"That is a pretty big job." Yuuma admits.

"Yeah, it is..."

The two gaze at the beautiful sky before them. Relaxing under the cool breeze that continue to brush itself against their skin.

It was a breathtaking sight. How the clouds were pacing around the world at their own leisure, blue skies that could only be described as a painting masterpiece, the Sun radiating just enough heat to keep one pleasantly warm, the winds helping out the Sun out in making the atmosphere both cool and warm.

And somehow, the city made the view all the better. Like a background. Or a foreground. Depends on the person's view of it.

Eventually, the masked ninja stood up and stretched a bit.

"I must go. I still need to look around and see if any 'misbehavior' and 'mischief' is taking place. Stay safe."

"Will do, sir." She replies with her signature playful tone. The man chuckled before he blurs out of existence in a burst of speed, leaving Yuuma to her own devices.

 _"I do hope Ryu will realize soon that most people of the supernatural do not settle things peacefully. It's a place populated by cruel people. And... I was one of them..."_ She thought-prayed. She too stood up and took flight once more, now out of her appearance-changing spell.

"I wonder how he's doing?" Yuuma wonders out loud.

* * *

 ** _Back to Ryu, In a Food Store..._**

* * *

Right now, Ryu is rubbing his hands together in a maniacal manner.

 _'Mwuahahaha! Perfect! Simply perfect!'_

 ** _[Where do you get these ideas, partner?]_**

 _'My evil brain, where else?'_

 ** _[... A very good point. I would not call your mind evil, however...]_**

Ddraig paused for a moment to see Ryu using his magic to make Aiko's grocery bags rip and fall off during her checkout. The clerks and other shoppers were confused too. Every time her goods were placed inside and attempted to be lifted, he would just point at it and make them simply rip apart. These were one of those times he was grateful for being mute. Otherwise, people would look at him like he is clinically insane because of how much and how loudly he would be laughing right now.

Good thing she didn't have eggs or any containers that held liquid.

 _ **[Just... Mischievous.]**_

Ryu ignored the comment in favor of continuing his "magic trick."

"How does this keep happening!?"

"I don't know! These are brand new bags!"

 _'Hahahaaahh! Let's take it up a notch!'_

Ryu started waving his finger at other objects like chips and snacks on counters near registers and making them fall off.

"Oh my God!"

"Ghosts! Ghosts!"

"That paranormal shit is real, man!"

He kept laughing harder and harder with each comment made.

"This is some real stuff going on!"

"Is this a prank?"

"Maybe it's for those recording stuff for some sick comedy video or something."

Ryu's face immediately turns to a deadpanning one and pointed at the one who said that last comment.

"EEEEEEEEKKKKK! MY PHONE!"

Through what the person is seeing and those around said individual, the phone's screen continuously went into static until a message popped up saying, "Run" appeared on it and then the battery mysteriously ran out, causing it to naturally shut off.

"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!"

And now the frightened person did what the message instructed.

"Screw this, I'm outta here!"

"Same here, man!"

Two more people left, whom were the ones that saw what happened on the phone. Aiko and other witnesses stood there in even more confusion. Meanwhile, Ryu went back to his silent, hysterical laughter. Ddraig shook his head at what he just saw and sighed.

 _ **[I do worry about your mental health sometimes, partner.]**_

 _'Hahahaha!'_

 ** _[Partner...]_** Ddraig figured it was time to get him back on track.

 _'Oh gosh, that was hilarious!"_

 ** _[Partner.]_** Ddraig repeats.

 _'Why haven't I thought of this!?'_

 ** _[_** **Partner... _]_** Ddraig finally got tired of it and spoke in a more serious tone. It worked for it snapped Ryu back to normal, as if he isn't the one causing misfortunes.

 _'What is it, Ddraig?'_

Ryu now tilts his head in confusion and innocence.

 ** _[Go help Amaya.]_**

He beams mentally at his order and nodded.

 _'Ah, okay!'_

Ddraig is still comprehending how fast his partner's personality changes.

 _ **[I am not questioning it at this point... Partner is at the very least helping.]**_

Aiko, in her case, could only sigh in frustration and _more_ confusion on how and why does the baggage keep ripping itself apart.

"Must be my unlucky day," surmises the innkeeper. Then, she blinks in surprise at the sight of another set of hands collecting her payed goods and setting them in bags.

"Wait! They're not breaking like the others!"

"Is he a magician?"

"Maybe he's part of whatever was going on? Or fixed it."

"Whatever. I don't really care. I can finally pay for my shit now and get a move on."

Aiko pays no mind to those comments, she was more absorbed at the one helping her.

"Ryu-kun?"

In response, he offers an American-style, mock salute. She laughs at his sense of humor. Slowly, her laughter dies down enough for her to speak up and say, "yhank you for helping me. I appreciate it." Again, he did another mock salute like before, still grinning like a carefree idiot.

* * *

 ** _Evening, Now At A Sidewalk Bench..._**

* * *

After doing Aiko a huge favor by carrying all of her groceries back to her inn, the two thought it would be a good idea to sit down and watch the streets bustle with people while having a nice conversation about what things have happened after their last meeting.

"Pff-! You really spent _hours_ looking for _another_ inn to live in?" Aiko asks. She could no longer hold in her laughter once she saw that Ryu confirmed it with a solid nod.

"I understand a lot of inns being booked because of tourism because of the city's renovations, but really? All that time and you only found _one_!?" She asks again to absolutely, positively confirm it. He wrote-responded with, 'the only one that wasn't a love hotel too as far as we searched. Luckily, we found it. Maison Izumo Inn.' Ryu could tell Miya's inn was not exactly on a "Top Inn" list if she tilted her head upwards to help her think what inn it is.

"Maison Izumo Inn, huh? I remember passing by it when I take my looong walks. I thought it was some historical trademark for tourists to see."

He couldn't help but snicker at her blunt yet honest comment.

'We at least have a room, free food, all that good stuff. The only con is Izumo-san's refusal of MBI cards.' His writing earned him an incredulous look from Aiko.

"She must be a woman of standards if she doesn't want to let you pay your things without any effort put into your payment. I can respect that and at the same time thinking how crazy she must be to not let _anyone_ use what's basically a cheat sheet for _everything_."

Ryu couldn't disagree with her there.

'All of that aside, how have you been?'

"Good. A bit lonely without having you to talk to me." Aiko giggled at the end. Ryu could only offer an apologetic smile. Aiko looks up, relishing in the cool winds.

"Ah... My parents would have liked to meet you. Too bad they're not here."

Ryu stares at Aiko's melancholic expression. After a brief moment, she brings her line of sight back down.

"Yeah, I'm just like you. I lost my parents to a horrible accident. Seven years ago, the inn burned down. My parents and guests went down with it. I survived because I was out shopping. Like right now... I inherited their money since I was in the legal age of twenty."

'Was it hard being by yourself?' Ryu appeared absolutely conflicted.

"At first, yes. Why do you ask?" Aiko glances at Ryu's troubled face.

'I was being taken care of by the orphanage until I reached the age of twenty.'

"Oh my... And you've just reached that age," she gasps out, "this must really be new to you."

Ryu shook his head and wrote, 'not really. I didn't want to be a bother to the ones taking care of me, so I've been planning on leaving once I devised a plan and a set income. Never mind that. Continue on with your tale.'

Aiko shared Ryu's conflict about how living alone with no one to look after, but drops the topic as asked. "Well... As I said, I inherited their money and I used it to renovate the inn to a love inn. I made it that way to show how much my parents loved the inn and I thought I should let people share their love freely too." Ryu's troubled look returned once more. 'But... Why did a love inn have two beds? Isn't it usually just one and have some decorations to symbolize love?' He asks. Aiko giggles again. "Yes, but I have a few rooms where two lovers can sleep apart or change to a room like yours in case some quarrel's fight happened. In your case, it must have been because you had no idea what my inn was if Yuuma-san continued asking if you knew what type of inn you chose."

Ryu facenotepads, sighing exasperatedly while he was at it.

"You left because one of you couldn't sleep because of next door guests, huh?"

'Wait, what? That's why we left?' Ryu's troubled look only seemed to be more troubled than before.

BOOM! An explosion erupted far away from the two though still loud enough to be heard. People stopped doing whatever they were doing to see the large smoke rising up to the atmosphere.

"Oh no! That's near the hospital!" Cries out Aiko in horror.

 _ **[Partner, it's time.]**_

Ryu's eyes narrow.

 _'I'm on it.'_

Using astonishing speed, Ryu began wall-running up before using other objects to get closer to a rooftop. Aiko could only watch Ryu use speed only a highly trained athlete runner of Olympics could muster. She had to repress a gasp when he grabbed on a horizontal pole and started swinging himself around it and threw himself up a roof at last. At this point, he could no longer be seen by her or anyone else for that matter.

 _"Is he planning on going to whatever is happening? It takes guts, but isn't it dangerous?"_ Though Aiko.

Meanwhile, Ryu already began using his superhuman speed as he passes through his own magic circle he created, switching him back to his "incognito" clothing.

 _'Please, God... Don't let those in the hospital die like this or anyone for that matter.'_ Ryu couldn't help but pray for their safety.

* * *

 ** _Yuuma..._**

* * *

 _"They finally decided to act, huh? Still, it's pretty petty to go after a hospital if that's their target."_ Thought the Fallen Angel. Having supernatural senses, she could hear and see the explosion going on miles away from her location. Resuming with her thoughts, she wondered if she should help out Ryu until she shook out from those thoughts. _"No. He should have it under control."_

That's when she felt a magic fluctuation near her, accompanied by explosions.

 _"Looks like he's not the only one who has to fight."_

And on that thought, Yuuma changes her course of flight to where the destruction was.

"Huh... What a weird Ashikabi and Sekirei duo."

She reached her destination in no time and is now looking at a trembling, black-haired thug and a fighting, orange haired hammer wielder. It was not difficult to figure out who is the Ashikabi and who is the Sekirei. Their opponent happens to be two Youkais. Both female. She doesn't even bother describing the two when they are going to be defeated by her. She would make sure it happens.

Seeing enough, Yuuma says, "I can already see the problem. Got to hand it to the hammer girl, she knows how to fight off against odds. Better lend a hand." And spawns an unstable spear of light and throws it.

The sound of energy sailing through air and sound caught the Youkai's and Sekirei's attention.

"A light spear! Move!" One of the two Youkai screamed out. The two jumped out of the way in time to dodge the spear's impact and explosion. The other two required to shield their eyes from the force and debris kicked up. After the explosive light show stopped, they opened their eyes again.

There was a large crater now in between them and the others.

"Sorry about that girls. It just doesn't seem fair to go around. handicapping on people."

All four look up and see Yuuma land gracefully, her wings out for all to see.

"A Fallen Angel!? Here!?" Yells-asks the other Youkai.

Yuuma summons another spear of light.

"Does this answer your obnoxious question? Hammer girl, get ready."

"Uhh.. H-huh!? O-okay!" The hammer user lifts up said hammer, ready to fight.

The male Ashikabi could only gawk in awe and anxiousness at the sight before him.

 _"What the fuck is going on here!?"_

* * *

 ** _Ryu..._**

* * *

 _'I see them! Two Youkai! One male, one female! And they're attacking... Uzume!? She's holding an ill child too!'_ Cries out Ryu in disbelief.

 ** _[Faster, partner!]_**

Ryu arrived at the scene in no more than a few seconds. Now, he was observing Uzume fight off two Youkai using what appeared to be white cloth surrounding her in midair. Her appearance changed to be that of the same cloth too, looking like a type of dress wore at a ball. Normally, he would wonder why use something like clothing to protect one's self, but he is right now witnessing that weak-appearing fabric repel powerful punches and kicks, up to even spells. Unfortunately, she could not do anything. Her arms were preoccupied holding a sick-looking blonde-brown hair and eyed girl.

The sight of this only pumped him with more adrenaline.

 _'I know!'_

Ryu wasted no time to leap off of a ledge from a skyscraper, now skydiving down to the sidewalk where they're fighting and delivers a devastating and magically imbued fist upon the unfortunate male Youkai. Ryu makes the magic in his hand detonate, causing the Youkai to sail through the air before crashing into his partner who caught him albeit skidding slightly due to the force.

Uzume and the child could only stare what was going on in front of them, both shocked and flabbergasted at the stranger's actions. Then, Uzume readies herself when he turns to face her. He took a few steps to come near her. She creates a drill out of a piece of her levitating cloth in case he tried anything "funny" until she felt something, making her eyes widen. They only widened further when he stops walking he was in front of them and did nothing.

The girl was the first to muster the courage to speak.

"Wh-who are you?"

The hooded man just smiles. It somehow soothes the two. That smile, however, turns to a frown when the sound footsteps from behind him rung in all of their ears. He turns around to face the now recovered Youkai.

"What you just used... It was magic... Who are you?" Asks the male Youkai.

"Don't bother. It's not like he'll answer. He didn't answer that kid over there." States the female Youkai.

Ryu could take the two down on his own...

 _'But it will be easier having Uzume place the child down and I can place a barrier around her. Then, we can both fight them.'_

He faces Uzume once more and points at the child, then at the floor. Uzume blinked a few times before getting the message. Looking between her and the Youkai, she began weighing out the pros and cons. That was until Ryu made another magic circle with bars of magic energy sticking out like a shield or barrier or sorts. One side was left open and she didn't have to think what she needed to place through that opening.

"It's okay, Uzume-chan. I trust him. He looks friendly." The child says. Uzume smiles at her.

"I trust him, Chiho. I was just worried about your safety. Now I see there is no need to worry."

Ryu blinks at how trusting they were towards him and watches Uzume place the girl named Chiho inside the circle. Seeing Uzume out of the circle and Chicho secured in it, he completely seals it off.

"Alright, Mr. Mysterious Hunk... What next?" Coyly asks Uzume, knowing full well what response he will give. Obliging, Ryu faces the Youkai again and flares his aura in a threatening manner. Following his lead, Uzume primes her cloth. Their foes knew what that meant and entered their combat stances.

* * *

 ** _At the Same Time, In MBI Headquarters..._**

* * *

"Hahahahaha! Splendid! Fantastic! Amazing! Two new factors have entered the game! What kind of turns will be made!? What direction shall this take!? Where- guh!" Minaka couldn't finish what he was rambling, courtesy of a frying pan.

"Restrain yourself, Minaka. Remember that we can't get a read on their faces. Something is disrupting us. Possibly because of Number Two. Strange how she would help them..." Spoke his assistant in her ever calm yet strained voice. What she said rung true, they could see the faces of other people, but not Ryu and Yuuma, who are the ones they have their eyes set upon, as those were blurred. The head of MBI slowly and sadly sat up.

"B-but Takami-chan... Things are getting exciting..." Whines Minaka.

"That is no reason to be making our staff panic every time something unexpected happens." Argues Takami.

The sound of soft footsteps garnered their attention.

"Do you believe we should go and... 'Take care' of this issue?" Karasuba wonders aloud. It sounded more like a request under her recommendation.

"Not yet, Karasuba. We do not know their extent and should we lose any of the Disciplinary Squad will be a large blow for the MBI." Reasons Takami.

Karasuba appeared to be pouting as she says, "Aw... That's no fun... Though, you sound as if I could die by them."

Takami didn't say anything. For good reasons.

Minaka, in his case, had some comments to spill.

"The suspense! The tension! The drama! Oh, how I adore it all! Commence the figh- oof!"

Aaaand Minaka is smacked by a frying pan again.

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6: End._**

* * *

 **AN: Ssshhhiiiieeet man! What's gonna happen in the next chapter!?**

 **Buuuuut! If you're reading this still, then let me just say that other characters will have the spotlight on them too, not just Ryu and Yuuma. It usually starts out with the main characters first before POV changes in big stories, right?**

 **And again... If you're still reading this... Some news... My original plan was to reach ten chapters, THEN binge-post them. But I guess seven chapters are just as good. I thought I should get through with posting and stop trying to procrastinating and hope I could somehow get the other chapters done and maybe gain some momentum to make the rest of the chapters in advance.**

 **Seems like I can't though. Maybe it's because I want to post what I have and get some responses. Maybe it's because I don't want to show the juicier stuff right off the freaking bat. Maybe I just really hit a Block that tells me to just post all of this just for the sake of posting it and STOP putting it off, as ironic as that is. Either way, this is where the posting stops and go back to regular scheduling.**

 **Speaking of regular scheduling. I'm planning on posting a new chapter every two weeks. However, during those two weeks, if I happen to make more than one chapter, I will post it. Because I can, that's why. IF! It isn't a chapter that had a big cliffhanger.**

 **Okay. I'm done.**

 **Alright, you can go now. Seriously, go. Leave. Now. Shoo. Skedaddle.**


	8. First Conflict, Part I

**AN: Wassup! Hope you're all rearin' to go and see how this chapter is going! Hope it's going well for you do far, guys and girls. Alright, enough stalling the big fight that hasn't happened since Chapter 4 (if you don't include the prologue as an actual chapter)!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7, Part 1: Begin**_

* * *

 _ **Time: Evening. Location: Hospital.**_

* * *

Uzume and Ryu stood on one side of the hospital's parking lot, the male and female Youkai stood on the opposite side, both duos staring each other down. Reading their movements carefully. Looking for any twitches, any tricks that could happen.

Ryu made the first move by slowly approaching the Youkai. One of them took this as an act of mockery and charged right at him.

"DON'T MAKE FUN OF U- AAHH!"

The male, the one who chose to go forth and attack, is struck down, or up, by an uppercut. The result was another short flight up to the air before hitting his back against the ground.

"Not bad, Mr. Hunk~. I have to admit, you got some strength and speed~." Purred out Uzume.

"Tch... Got cocky..." Groans out the male.

"No kidding. Get back here."

Obliging with no argument, the Youkai flips himself back on his feet and hops back to his original spot. Ryu sees they are no longer going to be falling for his tricks, so he runs forth, breaking the asphalt he stood on. The Youkai show no surprise or hid it well and took defensive positions, seeing their enemy has already reached them. The female block a straight punch using her forearm and the other hand catching his other fist in time. Ryu had to duck in order to avoid getting kicked by her partner and prepared to jump away to dodge another hit that appeared to be a heavy-hitting punch, only to find him being smashed in the head by a piece of flying cloth in the shape of a hammer.

Using this as breathing room to act, Ryu drives his knees into her gut with enough force to haunch her over in pain and let go of his fist. Taking advantage of his opponent's dazed state, Ryu performs a magically charged back flip kick, hitting the female right in the face. The force was strong enough to launch her in the air as Ryu predicted and jumps up in the air with her and lands a devastating front flip heel kick to her stomach again, launching her back to the ground and causing a crater to form around her body.

Meanwhile, Uzume telekinetically swung another hammer at the male, this time hitting the bottom of his foot. Uzume blinks in surprise when she saw him blocking it, or more specifically; cancelling out her attack using another attack - specifically a kick. The man growls savagely and grabs the hammer. Uzume eyes widen when she saw what he was trying to do, but it was too late to act as he tugs on the cloth with great force. He managed to lift her up from the ground with noticeable ease, and throws her to the hospital building. Uzume went through the wall and into one of the rooms where patients reside in as a result.

"Ugh... That hooded stranger makes it look so easy..."

Groaning, she recollects herself and brushes off the light stinging and debris caused from crashing through a wall. Having regained her bearings, she leaps back outside to continue her fight. Already, she found herself creating a barrier out of her cloth to prevent getting rammed in by a tackle. Thinking up a strategy, Uzume creates a hole in her "wall of protection" and took a "pot shot" by kicking his stomach through that opening, staggering him greatly.

She couldn't help but admire how sturdy his body was to damage.

"You can do it, Uzume-san!" Cheers Chiho. Uzume look back to see Chiho having remained inside the circle, still safe even with the damage to the environment. Getting her head and eyes focused back into the fight, she takes advantage of his staggering and wrapped a white ribbon around his arm.

"You know what they say: 'What comes around, goes around'!"

She uses that same ribbon to toss him into the air and throw him back down on the ground. She didn't stop there, however, she repeated this a few times before she decided to throw him to a car which was then bent and crushed thanks to the impact and his inhumanely sturdy body.

Back to Ryu, his side of the fight pressed on with only a few hits made on his body, though they were backed up by magic and strength. He switches his gaze to the hospital building, noting how people were still in there and watching. The nurses and doctors were in there too.

 _'Maybe they were busy trying to get rid of Uzume to use magic?'_ He idly wonders.

"Big mistake!"

Ryu's eyes shifted back to his opponent too late and received a kick to the jaw. Her strength and momentum managed to make him skid back a few feet.

 _ **[Careful, partner, her power is nothing to scoff at. Same for her fellow Youkai. They are not like the others you placed in a state of unconsciousness.]**_ Explains Ddraig.

 _'Gotcha... I'm surprised they haven't used that much magic yet.'_

Right after saying that, the female began to radiate power that turned into aura that was forming around her body. Ryu stares at this happening in front of him with a disbelieved look.

 _ **[I believe there is a saying that fits this situation: "You spoke too soon".]**_ Ddraig chuckles out.

 _'I know, I know... Sigh...'_

"Hah... Hah... What are you waiting for, human?"

It was quite clear Ryu did a number on his opponent if the bruises on her body, blood leaking out of her nose and mouth, and her eyes glazed over from dizziness because of trauma, were something to consider.

Ryu fixes his gaze back to her and readies himself to go another round...

Until a body crashed right next to her and Uzume gracefully lands next to Ryu, carrying very minor bruises around her stomach and back. During the time the female is helping her teammate out, Uzume thought of it a good idea to show her gratitude towards Ryu.

"Thanks for helping me out. I probably would have gotten some major damage if you didn't come along. And I don't want to think what would happen to Chiho if I was fighting by myself. They are a little tougher than the usual bunch."

Ryu blinks when he finished processing that last part.

 _'Usual bunch? So she's fought off Youkai herself?'_

 _ **[Hmm...]**_

 _'Ddraig?'_

 _ **[Yes?]**_

 _'What are you thinking about? You only hum when you go into deep thought.'_

 ** _[I believe I am beginning to think your theory is true, partner.]_**

 _'Huh?'_ Ryu blinks again. _'But I didn't tell you any theories of mine. Unless you're talking about the Youkai wanting this city as their territory or reclaiming it.'_

 ** _[No, not that. Although it is plausible, as I said before. Never mind that, partner. Focus on the task at hand.]_**

 _'Gotcha.'_

It was a good thing Ryu followed Ddraig's instructions because the two Youkai were changing their forms. The male's muscles expanded and his skin tints itself gray. A large horn jutted out of his forehead along with a smaller one on top of it. He reminded Ryu and the others of a rhinoceros. For the female, only pale whitish-yellow wings pop out of her back.

 _'A rhino and a bird that's not a Tengu_?' Ryu's confusion was no surprise to the red dragon. In the background, Chiho's eyes widened in horror when she saw them transforming. Even Uzume took a step back in shock and fear.

 ** _[Most Youkai are beings that resemble animals, partner. Not all of them are recorded in mythology.]_**

 **"You're going to pay for getting in our way, human!"** Roars out the rhino Youkai.

 **"We are stronger in this form too, so victory is not as close as you think it is,"** calmly states the bird Youkai.

 ** _[Partner, you will also have to also take this seriously. I do detect an increase of their power and that can lead to severe damage to the environment and probable casualties.]_**

 _'Good to know. I don't know how much longer we can keep this up though. Without involving others or using more drastic measures, I mean.'_ For the faintest of seconds, his eyes stray in the hospital's direction, eyes full of worry and concern.

"Ready for round two, handsome?"

Ryu nods to Uzume's question and the two ready themselves.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, In a Neighborhood Park..._**

* * *

"Are you two just going stand there or what?" Taunted one of the Youkai girls. Yuuma held her spear, ready to throw it or slash with it at any given moment. Her Sekirei comrade held her large hammer as tight as she could.

"Fight already!" Yells out the hammer girl's Ashikabi. Yuuma felt like gutting him open already by how snarky the kid sounded, but that would upset Ryu and make her temporary ally to an enemy. Cons weighing out pros, she sighs and chooses not to kill him and lazily throws her spear at both Youkai. They dodge it, of course, but Yuuma predicted that and threw two prepped up spears at them which exploded, causing some burns on their arms from using them to shield themselves.

"For someone who's impatient, you leave yourself wide open for someone to hit you. It's like you _want_ to get hurt." Yuuma says in a mocking tone. Behind her, the Ashikabi let out a, "Daaayyuuumm!" The "impatient" one sneers at her enemy's insult and dashes towards her, ready to strike. Yuuma could only smirk and wrap herself around her own wings as a shield to protect herself. Her technique was successful; her wings absorbed the Youkai's punches and kicks. The orange haired Sekirei finally snapped out of her shock of seeing wings on a "human" and swung her hammer at the attacker, effectively knocking the wind out of her and her body into the wind itself. The sound of hard metal hitting bone and flesh told Yuuma her offender was stricken and unfurls her wings.

"You and that hammer of yours pack a punch." Complemented Yuuma.

"Th-thank you..." The girl shyly twiddles her fingers around before finally getting the courage to speak again, "u-um... Who are you? W-why are you helping us?"

Yuuma didn't think of it as a big problem to tell them her actual name or her reason to help them fight.

 _"It's not like I'll meet them again in this form."_

"My name is Raynare and I just thought I should lend a friendly hand. Now, if you don't mind, we got a fight to win right now."

"Ah! My name is Yashima! It's nice to meet you!" The now known Yashima introduces herself.

"Likewi-"

"Uhh... Hey! Don't you have those chicks to fight!?" That snapped Yuuma and Yashima and readied themselves for combat. Good thing too, their enemies were already up and about to pounce if they didn't turn around.

"Tch..." Yuuma summons a spear of light and twirls it around for mocking effect while Yashima held her hammer horizontally tilted with both hands at the ready.

...

The four of them blurred out of existence from the poor guy's eyes and brain - not being able to catch nor process their speed.

But he can at least here the sounds of metal hitting flesh and a... Buzzing sound? Could have been the other chick with those spears.

In the battle field itself, Yuuma was weaving around punches and kicks from her opponent with the occasional swish of her spear to redirect energy attacks before retaliating with a slash of her tainted light spear. The darker browned of the duo was forced to jump away and run around her opponent to avoid Yuuma's spear throws that continue to leave holes on the concrete ground. During her run, she jumped into the air to avoid a spear that was thrown in front of her path. Unfortunately, this seemed to have been telegraphed and a spear was thrown _right at her_ , piercing her stomach, but fortunately for the Youkai, it only went in about five inches instead of clean through.

But it did explode like the rest.

"AAAGH!" She falls back to the ground with blood coming out of the now gaping hole that revealed muscle and bits of her rib cage sticking out from the top portion of it.

"You're still too soft to fight against someone as experienced as me." Was all Yuuma says as she stood there with her arms under her chest and spear on one hand.

Looking bored the entire time.

Yuuma's words must have been more painful than the spear, because she was gritting her teeth and snarling at her and no longer appeared to have been in pain. As an act of revenge, she strikes back with another blast of energy, only to get it countered with another spear... But the blast explodes and managed to knock Yuuma back to a tree.

"WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN!?" She roared and charged the Fallen Angel with claws at the ready and attempts to go for straight-out decapitation, but Yuuma predicted as much and ducked under the swipe and slashes _her_ in return, making more blood flow from her stomach as the tree falls to the ground from the attack that was to originally remove Yuuma's head.

"AACK!" The Youkai coughed up blood and jumped away if she were to avoid having another slash wound on her stomach.

"As I said. You're far too inexperienced, hotheaded, and predictable."

"Grr...! Shut up!" And clashes once more against the Fallen Angel.

With Yashima, she was having a bit of a rough time trying to find an opening to strike while _not_ getting pummeled to the ground.

"Aah!" She flinched on feeling another kick to the side.

"What happened to all that confidence before? You seem to be doing pretty bad here if you ask me!" She grinned maliciously and wide enough to show elongated razor fangs as she strikes with another kick.

But was blocked by the handle of Yashima's hammer.

"Oooo! She finally decides to wise up?" The Youkai said right before she was about to lash out another kick.

But again, Yashima countered. Only this time, she moves to the side and swung her hammer on her opponent's entire body with enough force and strength to blow them away through a tree.

...

"Did that do it...?"

"What do you think?"

She let out a yelp when the woman spoke from behind the broken tree's leaves. Yashima made the right choice to follow her instincts by holding out her hammer by its side and effectively blocking claw swipes with the pole of the mallet.

Through either quick thinking or dumb luck, Yashima decided to pull back her weapon, making the enemy fall towards the ground.

But she didn't get to lower herself, even by inches.

Not when her face was introduced to Yashima's best friend, hammer, and her body was also being acquainted to something called "blunt force trauma" with the pleasure of knowing how it felt to fly in the air and blow through another tree again. But she had the bonus of going through five instead of a single one.

Delightful.

Simply...

Delightful.

"FUCK YEA! TAKE THAT, BITCH! I BEAT YOUR ASS UP!" The man jumped up with his fist pumped out. All the while grinning victoriously.

Then the Ashikabi and Sekirei duo let out a squeal of fear and shock when a body blew through them with so much power, it tilted the trees nearby and absolutely _disintegrated_ the parts of the trees it _did_ hit.

On a side note, one's squeal-slash-"manly" scream was more feminine than the other.

It will be up to debate on whose it was.

"Srnk... You didn't even do _anything_ and you celebrate like you did something."

The two turned to the voice and saw that winged woman standing there and with none of her clothing even having a _speck_ of dirt on it.

The male obviously didn't take kindly to this and apparently thought she wasn't even worth arguing with words.

So he goes with the far more mature thing of giving her _the_ finger.

No no no. Not the finger. _The_ finger.

Yuuma rolled her eyes whilst shaking her head.

 _"Maturity at its finest."_

"U-um... Thank you, Raynare-san!"

Yashima bowed a complete ninety-degrees after storing away her hammer _somewhere_.

"Don't worry about it."

Yuuma's eyes trailed towards the fallen trees.

"Hey... Yashima..."

Yashima straightened herself up and saw where Yuuma was looking.

By the time she turned halfway, her hammer was already out and ready to bash something in.

It was the Youkai. The one who fought Yashima was helping the other one stand, who looked ready to keel over, and had more extensive damages than before.

"Y-you-... Why didn't you kill me?" The severely wounded Youkai coughed up blood as she questioned Yuuma.

Yuuma's only response was by conjuring another spear and impaling it to the ground, making the four flinch when they felt the ground vibrate from that, while she just leaned against it, all nonchalant about it.

"... I made a promise to my superior to not kill anyone I fight. I owe him my life, so the least I can do is follow through with it. I _would_ be worried if I went too far on you, if I didn't know your partner would start healing you." It's just as she said - her less-damaged partner already started applying her own magic to stop the bleeding.

"Heh... Heh heh..." Weakly wiping the blood from her mouth, she spoke again, "if you had a run-in with our superiors, you'd be in trouble. They're not like us." But to fuel her already monumental anger, all Yuuma did was shrug; uncaring about it.

"I felt their magic and the increase too. I will admit - There is a chance I could die if you all ambushed me or just by those two alone. But sadly..." She grinned to reveal her razor-sharp teeth. She got a reaction by having them shiver in fright, Ashikabi and Sekirei included.

"They're being handled by my superior. He just happens to be working with someone else too, if you were able to sense the person. Good thing they learned to release their true forms and trained their powers too, unlike you two. Otherwise they'd be done-in sooner."

Then Yashima, the two Youkai, and Yuuma's eyes widened when they felt something amiss. But for Yuuma, she closed them quickly after, and snickered.

"So... He's using the spell I taught him, huh?" She stared off into the distance - towards the hospital's location. "Guess they pushed him enough to where he didn't want to take a chance; having all those bystanders and sick so close."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7, Part 1: End**_

* * *

 **AN: I decided to cut it short here. I dunno... I thought of making some breathing room and not flood you, the readers, entirely with pure combat at the very first fight of the story and series in general. It would've been something akin to double the amount that's posted here if I didn't stop. I can only hope I did a good job on what I put. I can assure you people that fight scenes will be longer as the story progresses. You know, to settle in both the series' pace and my own writing pace. I probably shouldn't, but that's just my gut feeling. If there's one thing I've learned throughout my life: is to follow my gut when it decides to speak.**

 **Welp... Time for Guest Review Time!**

 **Guest Reviewer (1 - 6): Okay, so now that you know Minato is still in the story, that shortens explanations for me. First off: Have some faith in me, dude! Come on! He's not a friggin' Gary-Stu! He's just getting respect for _being_ respectful in return! He's also a fucking mute for fuck's sake! Miya's going to try to be nice to him (when he's not accidentally breaking her rules) when she can! Also, remember the fact that Uzume likes to tease like no one's business. You can think whether he's her destined Ashikabi, or just finds him attractive enough to mess around. The bloodline thing and choice of clothing are just for cosmetic purposes, really. A nice little touch of detail, if you will. Don't try to overthink it.**

 **...**

 **I feel sorry for this poor guy. The website probably belated his submissions. Not blaming the site, mind you. I'm just saying that I can tell it's the same person. Though that's probably obvious.**


	9. AN: Important News

**Sup? Ryu here, as usual.**

 **I'm aware quite a few were expecting an update chapter, but I have some urgent news concerning that.**

 **No, I'm not quitting on this story. No, I didn't lose my inspiration. And I've yet to hit a "Writer's Block", so I doubt that's the problem.**

 **Though the last one is the closest one of the three...**

 **Anyway, the reason behind this announcement is to let you, the readers, know that I need to switch up my priorities at the moment. In other words - stuff happened and I need to put a lot of my attention to it. Nothing life threatening or life _style_ threatening. At least not at the moment or that I'm aware of. Either way, it should be breezed by in a month or so. At least, that's my hopeful estimate.**

 **...**

 **I just realized how friggin' shifty I sound like, with how vague I'm being an' all... Never was the type to talk about myself and what goes on in my side of things in general. Just a bad case of paranoia or somethin'.**

 **Okay, basically, I just need to focus more on my job and other adult stuff like that. No biggie.**

 **Er... Well... As I said - a month or so. Maybe longer, but I'm pretty damn sure it won't be more than three months.**

 **Sorry about this. Though, with how there are so many other stories and things to do out there, I doubt it's much of an issue, right? Heheh.**

 **Alright. Time for me to wrap this elongated bit of news.**

 **I _will_ delete this A/N and replace it with an _actual_ chapter once I can do so.**

 **Now, with all that said... Later!**


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